Here I Stand
by determinationiskey
Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]
1. Prologue

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

Disclaimer: **This will be the one and only time I do this, so let's get something clearly obvious over with. I do not own Boku no Hero Academia, but Kohei Horikoshi sure does! I'd like to encourage everyone to go out and support the official release (the manga)!**

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Chapter 0: Prologue

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I felt the waves lapping over, and over and over my frantically waving hand. I flailed and thrashed around, but in the end, I got nowhere. My arm eventually became fatigued, and helplessly dropped below, next to my equally exhausted body. It felt as though my lungs were being filled with burning acid–ever ripe and ready to burst. The worst part is whenever I thought that this is my limit, this is my end, I held on to my life that much longer.

Eyes widened, clenched fist, mouth—still shut. I pushed once, reaching for god-knows-what. I failed of course, only managing to grab a fistful of water. I tried to relax—didn't work.

I've held my breath in a pool before, but this—this was nothing like that. This felt like the equivalent of having a gun to my head and being told not to let my heartbeat.

Of course it was going to beat.

And just like the heart must go on, my lungs would have to inhale at some point; whether it is the air or briny water. My mouth quivered frenziedly before finally caving in. At the moment that the frigid water rushed in, I knew I was going to die. In mere moments I would float like a seaweed, nothing more than flesh and bones ready to rot and decay below in the depths of the marine ecosystem.

I wanted to be saved from this mess; I wanted a rescuing hand to carry me back to life, to the world above…

This, however, wasn't like some movie where drowning was unrealistically noisy and attention-grabbing, someone yelling and waving their arms for dear life as they dip below the waves and come back up, the lifeguards on shore scrambling dramatically to rescue them.

Instead, drowning was much more hushed, their movements subtle, rarely making any noticeable noise at all. One moment your head was hovering above the water and the next, it was gone underneath the violent waves as they pulled you under; no regard for your life. Screaming wasn't really an option, the water tugging you underneath constantly seeming to negate any chance of you screaming for help.

Well.

At that point in time, I had already come to accept that I was going to die. This was really it for me, after seventeen-short-years old on this planet. Well, it couldn't all be so bad. At least I could go and meet my maker and be at everlasting peace; just like in those stories my mom always told me about all those years.

That was when I finally let myself go and just breathed. There was a naïve part of me that had wished and hoped air would somehow magically enter my body. That didn't happen, the water surrounding me, flooding into my body and filling me with gallons upon gallons of water.

And it was done. My eyes gradually closed shut, the darkness enveloping around me.

I never in my life thought I'd die by drowning in the vast ocean; I thought I would die at least honorably, ceasing after an escaping pocket-picking thug and getting fucked over for being heroic. Drowning didn't seem like such a bad option either, except for the fact that it wasn't nearly as painless as people made it out to be.

Before I parted ways with the world that I knew, I heard the shouting of a man and several others nearing me. Must've been the lifeguards, coming to rescue me; the damsel in distress.

Guess someone really did notice me in trouble.

Unfortunately, at that point, it was too late. I had already forfeited my life to the despicable murderer that was the sea.

I wondered how my mother, father and the rest of my family would deal with this tragic ordeal, knowing their baby boy was gone forever and nothing could be done to bring him—me—back. I wished I could say my last goodbyes to them, that I could hug and kiss them one last time before I made my departure.

It sickened me to my stomach to know that I would be leaving behind precious people and the memories I've made with them. That I didn't get to fully enjoy my life and experience all the things that came with growing up and becoming older. All the hard work I put into my education, everything, it was all forfeit and all I could do was accept that.

At least I can die knowing that I fought with all I had in me to survive.

Those were my single last thoughts as I passed, my body drifting lifelessly down into the depths of the sea.

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...

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There was nothing but silence. Surrounding me was nothing but darkness, not a single sign of light around me. I tried to move around, but I couldn't. I was just _there_ ; my entire body invisible to my own eyes. Was… was this truly what the afterlife was like? Maybe God or his angels would show up any time now and guide my poor drifting soul to Heaven.

And then, just like that, my wish was seemingly granted.

A blinding light manifested, overpowering the darkness around me.

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...

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I felt weak and utterly drained. I felt tightly compressed and uncomfortable at the moment, almost as if I was being confined between oddly shaped, riffled feeling walls.

Where was I?

Why was the afterlife so—dark and warm?

Where did the light take me?

These questions played in my head like a record, as I attempted to deduce where I was currently at. I was then snapped out of thought, my ears suddenly assaulted by an onslaught of loud noises. Beeping could be heard from somewhere nearby, increasing in volume at every passing second; it was like machines were going haywire.

The piercing, high-pitched screams of a woman could also be heard. Just what kind of sick place was I in!?

" _Pusshu, misu_! _Anata wa sore o suru koto ga dekimasu_!" an encouraging voice yelled over the violent bellowing of the woman. I couldn't understand a lick of what the man was saying and the screaming wasn't helping me recognize the language either.

I needed to know what was happening, why I was still feeling and breathing. Why wasn't I actually dead? Shouldn't I have been ascending to the gates of Heaven or something?!

Suddenly, it all happened. The warm, oddly-shaped walls enveloped around me began to get a little too tight, a bit too unstable. Then there was a pulsating wall of muscle forcing me to slip downward. This was _too_ weird! It almost felt like I was going to be squished! My flight instincts kicked in. I needed to get away before I was turned into taffy!

Funny thing about that though, was that none of my limbs seemed to respond the way I wanted them to and I ended up getting pretty squished regardless.

Next thing I knew, I was finally out of the unknown cesspool. I inhaled impulsively upon feeling air coming in contact with my body. Moments later, my entire body was bombarded by a several towel wipes, these random figures cleaning the sticky fluids dripping off of me. This, as a result, opened up my airways completely, allowing me to breathe easier.

Wait a minute…

Sticky fluids? Warm darkness? Mechanical beeping? Screaming from a woman?

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It made more and more sense as I continued to be carefully cleaned off by the figures.

I wasn't going to consider it; I didn't want to consider it. However, the answer was so blatantly obvious why this was happening to me, why I was still living and why I wasn't in some sort of afterlife. I didn't want to accept it, I couldn't.

This harsh reality still existed, no matter how much I didn't want to consider something like this real.

I had just been reincarnated as a baby.

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 **Translations:**

 **Pusshu, misu! Anata wa sore o suru koto ga dekimasu: "Push, miss! You can do it!"**

 **Author's Note:**

 **And done! It's not really much anyone can get from that short prologue chapter but I still hope you all enjoyed it! I'm just going to go ahead and release the second chapter right after this anyways.**

 **This is an idea I've had circulating for about a _long_ time now, and I mean since 2017 long. As of January of this year, I have been planning out the course I want this story to follow and I felt confident enough to actually go ahead and post it. **

**Also humongous thanks to someone I consider a great friend, _CorgisAreMySoul_. She's responsible for cleaning up and editing the stupid mistakes I make in every chapter; I really can't thank her enough for the wonderful job she does. Also, if you haven't checked it out, please make sure to give her SI-OC fic: Eternal Flame, a read! **

**In my opinion, it's probably the best SI-OC fic in this fandom as of right now; mostly in part to how well she constructs and writes. You honestly won't regret reading, that's a guarantee.**

 **Regarding romance, I was a little indecisive on making a choice on this matter, and I came to a conclusion: I am still indecisive. There's a good chance that there will be romance, but I do not want to get any one's hopes up.**

 **Warnings/triggers will be provided if people believe them to be truly necessary! I don't think every chapter will need one but just let me know in a review or PM if that's the case and I'll make sure to add it in!**

 **Lastly, with this being an SI-OC, events will eventually begin to shift and change due to the inclusion of this character, for the better or worse. All I'm saying is that it'll take some time to diverge from the canon events that happen in the series/universe, so don't expect to jump right in that kind of stuff for just a little while. There are a couple of important plot points that happen during his childhood-years, including middle school years.**

 **I am writing this story with a vision in mind and I plan to fulfill that through and through. Keyword: _plan_. In terms of an update schedule, thanks to summer, it should be about one every two weeks; depends on my beta reader's schedule. I cannot speak for when school starts back up as I'll be a Senior in High School; so that's a pretty busy, stressful rollercoaster in itself right now.**

 **With all that out the way, I hope you will enjoy what I set out to be one of the greatest stories ever told in this entire fandom and site!**


	2. New Life Arc: Chapter 1

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

 **TRIGGERS: Mentions of religion.**

 **EDIT: 6/26/18. It's me, back again! Some dumb, simple mistakes in this chapter as well. Editing everything to better every reader's experience! Also, corrected the wrong tenses throughout the chapters and gave Mirai's parents much-needed descriptions on their appearances and clothing. Most importantly, the translations are finally added in. :)**

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Chapter 01: W-Why Are They Floating?!

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Two months had passed since my "rebirth" into this unknown world and to sum it up as a whole, nearly every day was a maddening cycle of feeding, sleeping, and breathing. Like I was living almost every single day on an endless loop.

Was this what life after death truly was?

Were all those stories that the Church and my mother preached to me, all just tall tales?

Being given a second chance to live out your life under a new family and name?

I thought these things to myself ever since the day of my rebirth and it always went and threw my brain for a loop. This was all far from real, yet here I was. I never truly got over it this whole thing during those two months, and I don't think I ever will but there wasn't anything I could do about it.

Fuck my life.

The tedious lackluster of each day irked my soul to the point where I was always seeking a way out of my boredom. Every so often I'd toss and turn, attempting to focus my adult-like mind in order to control my toddler body. The end result is just as you would imagine. Naturally, my limbs were nowhere near developed, so my expectations were already poor enough.

Didn't mean it didn't still hurt nonetheless.

So basically all I could do was eat, sleep, and release bodily fluids. Oh and cry at every moment possible. Yeah, the life of an infant sucked.

A normal day usually consisted of me being woken up early in the morning for my daily breastfeeding from my mother.

I never could get used to the whole feeding thing, probably because I was conscious of the fact that I was actually sucking on my mother's breast. Despite that, and I hate to admit this, after weeks of my mother's natured formula, I couldn't believe how incredible it tasted. From the sweet and creamy flavor to the rich scent, it was a guilty pleasure of mine that I didn't want to admit.

Afterward, I'd either be put back in my crib until the afternoon for my naptime or be carried around in my parents' arms, though I had no idea where I was going most of the time. To make matters worse, I couldn't see anything in these first few months of life as my eyes hadn't finished developing yet.

Recalling my past life, I remembered reading a book that mentioned newborns were born without the sense of sight and would not be able to fully see until three or four months in their lifetime and knowing that fact made my days even more monotone than I'd thought possible as I anxiously waited for that day.

Two months prior to me becoming accustomed to the fact that I wasn't able to see, I was incredibly petrified.

The world was one big giant blur to me and everything was contorted and misshaped. There was a point whenever I'd see my parents; I'd become so terrified, their faces blurry and malformed, like ominous creatures in the night. I didn't know what was happening around me.

I could hear fine, but it didn't help that I couldn't understand a lick of what was being spoken. There were also times, at night, where I couldn't sleep and all I could think about was my past life; usually lead to me feeling an unavoidable wave of depression. As a result, all I did was scream and cry at the top of my lungs. Looking back at how I behaved at first, I felt horrible. I must have put my new parents through the ringer, but I had to applaud how loving and caring they were to me, even as I screamed my head off in the middle of the night like an actual infant.

Speaking of languages, I had also long deduced the language spoken around me was actually Japanese.

At the young age of thirteen, I was a full-on, and I hate this word till this very day, weeaboo. All I ever did at that point in time was watch anime and read manga. Not to say that that's a bad thing, of course, I just made it look like a bad thing. I had a habit of incorporating the Japanese language into regular English and did weird shit like run around with my arms flailing behind my back, mimicking the iconic _Naruto_ run. I probably deserved being ridiculed and teased by my family for that part. But all-in-all, I recognized certain words and phrases used on a daily basis around me like "Otou" and "Okaa" which respectively meant father and mother.

Other than that, nothing eventful happened until about another three months later when I was finally gifted with new and improved sight. I couldn't have been any more relieved at this, the blurry images of surroundings fading and everything becoming clear.

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...

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The first thing I saw when I gained the ability to properly see was my mother.

Well, my new mother.

I remembered that one morning like it was yesterday. I was woken up from my slumber by her. My eyes fluttered open and I was met face to face with a woman. Seeing her for the first time, I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. She looked to be in her twenties, probably mid; her face clear and smooth, devoid of any blemishes or imperfections. She was a pale woman with long, vibrant red hair and black eyes. She had two small beauty marks, moles, on her face; one centered on her right cheek and the other near her chin. She wore a red strapless sundress, a white knitted sweater worn over it. Her neck was dazzled with a heart-shaped locket necklace. Lastly, she wore classic matte black rectangle glasses with clear frames.

" _Ohayō_ , _Mirai_ - _kun_ ," she spoke in a loving tone.

The way she smiled at me made me beam in happiness. Her smile was uplifting, enough to cure anyone feeling down. I wish I could have seen her smile sooner, during that first month. She patted my head carefully as to not put pressure on my soft spot before reaching into my crib and picking me up. She then proceeded to walk downstairs and make her way to the kitchen.

Deciding to take in everything I had been living around for the past four months and examine my surroundings, I found that our house was actually incredibly, well, huge! And no, it wasn't because I was so little that everything seemed bigger than I think it actually is. It was an actual mansion as far as I was concerned.

What are the chances of me being reborn into wealth? It's the least I could get for making me have to go through the tortures of life all over again.

On the way to the kitchen, we passed through the living room. Above the living room was a gigantic sparkling chandelier, luscious, stainless tatami flooring and master class art hanging on the wall that only an artistic genius like Da Vinci could've produced. The walls were painted with a classic burgundy color. There were also three double-decker sofas and a coffee table with moon rocks and cinnamon-scented candles standing in front of the couches, still in perfect condition. On the wall was a gigantic flat-screen TV and below the television was a fireplace, giving off warmth and comfort.

One thing that I did catch is how modern it looked; except for the paintings and some of the decorations, it didn't look ancient at all. I had to have been reborn in the 21st century, still.

The decor was rich in taste. It was beautiful and homey all in one.

There was also something that piqued my interest along the way. Laying the beautifully painted walls were several portraits, but one, in particular, was of a baby with short hot pink hair. That must've been me unless I had a sister or brother I somehow didn't know about. Since I've been here I haven't heard any other baby's crying beside my own. My mother suddenly stopped and took notice to me observing the portrait.

" _Ā_ , _anata_ _no shashin_ _ga sukidesu ne_? _Anata wa_ _kawaī akachanda yo ne_?" She chuckled, before continuing to the kitchen. Whatever it was that she said, it made me feel butterflies in my stomach. Suddenly, my nose was infiltrated by an ambrosial aroma. Drool started to roll down my mouth comically.

' _Let's hurry this up Mom! I wanna eat!'_ I said, while waving my arms wildly. Well, I tried to speak but all that came out was happy gargles. Ugh, one of the _many_ downsides of being a damn baby. Because I couldn't properly convey what I was saying, I resorted to pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

Mom seemed to easily catch on.

" _Sate_ , _anata no i no naka ni tabemono o te ni ireyou_!" my mother smiled. Moments later, we were finally in the kitchen. Upon entering, she was immediately greeted by a silvery voice. That's right! I would finally be able to see my father's face too!

" _Ohayō_ _hanī_!" I turned my head, as much as I could, to look forward but to no avail. Seeing me struggle to twist my head around, my mother helped me out and positioned me around herself.

Upon doing so, my eyes met with my father's for the first time.

His eyes were blue and had hot pink hair. His hair was crazily expanded out, making it appear messy and unkempt. He had a light complexion and sported a sharply-groomed goatee. He had a muscular build, most likely from working out and eating healthy. He wore a red plaid shirt and light-brown khakis, alongside a pair of black formal shoes. Finally seeing what I looked like and what my father looked like, I could see that my father's genes were very strong within me; I was the spitting image of him.

It was nice to see my 'father' for the first time, but pink hair? Spiky and messy?

Who did he think he was; an anime character?

I chuckled internally at the thought. Being wealthy _and_ in some anime-verse? Nah, I'm wasn't that lucky. Besides, that could potentially end up biting me in the ass, depending on the anime. I could be in the Naruto-verse for all I knew, having to train to kill and risk my life as a ninja, even take place in a great war. I wheezed once more in my head. Hahaha, my imagination amazed me at times.

In all seriousness though, hair wasn't just naturally pink like that.

He looked over at me and smiled warmly.

" _Ohayō_ , _Mirai_ ," he said in an endearing tone. He then covered his face with his burly hands. The first time I was actually seeing him and he was about to pull that peek-a-boo shit on me right? Well, I guessed I would just go along with it to please him. Had to keep up that role as a child, no matter how ridiculous it felt. (Good morning, Mirai.)

" _Pikku_ - _a_ - _bū_!" he yelled, a silly face replacing his original one. I feigned excitement, giggling while waving my tiny hands around in the air. My father gave a proud laugh before rubbing his hand through my hair. Although these people weren't my real parents, that didn't stop me from feeling some sort of emotional attachment to them.

I would never resent them out of spite, especially with the way they've taken such good care of me. They seemed like great, honest people and I couldn't wait to learn more about them as I aged. Meeting them face to face was just the beginning.

" _Chotto mirai, watashi wa chōdo anata no tame ni, purezento ga arimasu_!" he exclaimed before digging into his back pocket and pulling out a Matryoshka doll and placing it in my tiny hands. My developing eyes fixed in on the Russian nesting doll. A brightly smiling man, cheeks rosy, was depicted on the wooden surface. I appreciated the present, I really did, but I'm sure he could've gotten me something a little less, I don't know… creepy?

His smile was wider than the damn Cheshire cat and that was saying a lot.

The person assuming the role as my father stared at me for a couple seconds before bursting out in a fit of hysterical laughter, nearly doubling over in his endless cackling. Taking note of my shocked little baby face, my mother also took part in laughing.

I didn't get it; what was so funny? Was it obvious from my reaction that the present was downright creepy?

My father wiped a falling tear from his eye. After calming himself down, he stood up straight and puffed his chest out. From my position, he looked macho as hell; way more than my previous father ever did. Sorry, Dad; but the man in front of me had an almost heroic feel to him as he stood tall.

" _Mite_ , _musuko_! _Shō o o tanoshimi kudasai_!" he said before putting his arm out in front of him.

That's when it happened. In that instant, it felt like the whole entire world around me had disappeared. My eyes focused on the nesting doll as it began to shake lightly in my hand.

My heart stopped. My brain was frantically searching for an answer to this sudden dilemma. I was pretty sure this wasn't normal.

I glanced upward at my new father. He still had his arm sticking out in front of him. That and his eyes were glaring red! RED!

Before I even had a chance to attempt to process what was going on, the doll started to glow, emitting a pink aura. My eyes were still developing; maybe I was on drugs? The doll steadily began easing out of my loose grip and began –

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Levitating! Fucking _levitating_ right in front of me!

I couldn't be the only one seeing this right now. Rotating my head as far as I could, I tried to see if my mother was seeing the same thing I was seeing and I was dumbfounded by the expression on her face. She was beaming brightly at the magical spectacle going on in front of us, like this was something normal!

 _POP_!

Snapping my head back to what was in front of me, I focused in on where the popping sound came from and now saw two Matryoshka dolls.

My father's voice took me out of my trance, " _Anata wa_ _papa no_ _chīsana_ _shō ga sukidesu ka_?"

He maneuvered his hand slightly upward and sideways, the nesting doll opening and revealing another doll at the gesture.

Then another one came out, then another, and another, and another.

A few moments passed before the popping noises ceased and there, floating in the air, was the glowing pink dolls, each of them lined up in a row from largest to smallest.

Yeah, that's the final straw. I was going insane.

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 **Translations:**

 **Ohayo, Mirai-** **kun** **: Good morning, Mirai-kun** **.**

 **Ā, anata** **no shashin** **ga sukidesu ne** **: Ah, do you like your picture?**

 **Anata wa** **kawaī akachanda** **yo ne** **: You're a cute baby, aren't you?**

 **Sate, anata no i no naka ni tabemono o te ni ireyou: Alright, alright, let's get some food in your stomach then!**

 **Ohayō hanī: Good morning honey.**

 **Ohay** **ō Mirai** **: Good morning Mirai.**

 **Pikku-a-bū: Peek-a-boo!**

 **Chotto mirai, watashi wa chōdo anata no tame ni, purezento ga arimasu: Hey Mirai, I have a little present, just for you!**

 **Mite, musuko! Shō o o tanoshimi kudasai: Look closely, son! Enjoy the show!**

 **Anata wa papa no chīsana shō ga sukidesu ka: Do you like Papa's little show?**

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 **A/N: I don't think all of the chapters will feature an Author's Note but mostly all of them will, explaining events that happened in whatever chapter and my thought process behind it or providing a note of some sort, thanking the readers and reviewers!**

 **Also, as you guys can tell, this will be a slight AU from the very beginning. That's all I think I can say without spoiling anything.**

 **Getting the language stuff out the way, yes, Mirai will eventually learn Japanese and there will be no longer any need for the translation sections as the dialogue will change to English. Not an original concept by any means, but it's realistic in this situation.**

 **Next up, word count. The majority of the chapters after awhile will see an increase in word count; somewhere near to 5k to 10k. It just depends on the content being provided in that specific chapter. The story will start out light in terms of the number of words though.**

 **The infant/baby years are something that will be done and over with within the next three or four chapters. I apologize if that's too long but again, there are some plot points that are necessary to be introduced. Trust me on that. I hope most aren't deterred from the sort-of-slowburn, but that's how it will be.**

 **All the action and interactions with main characters will happen in due time!**

 **That's all I really wanted to speak about in this A/N. Everyone have a great day, or night and be safe!**


	3. New Life Arc: Chapter 2

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

Another chapter down! Hope you all enjoy!

 **TRIGGER : Mentions of religion.**

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Chapter 02 _:_ W-Why Are Those Coming Out Of Her Fingertips?!

* * *

If I could speak properly, something along the lines of: "What the actual fuck?" would have probably slipped out.

My eyes hadn't left the floating dolls. They wouldn't. _They couldn't_.

Was this some sort of magic trick?

No, that wouldn't make any sense. They were _floating_ in mid-air while _glowing_ for Pete's sake, and his eyes had changed colors! Unless my father was the descendant of the great Houdini, that wasn't just some ordinary 'magic trick'.

Gradually, he lowered his arm, the dolls recollecting within each other one-by-one before landing on the kitchen coffee table with a soft clack. His eyes had reverted back to normal as soon as the dolls made contact with the table.

" _Anata wa odoroki o tanoshinda ka, musukodesu ka_?" he asked, his smile gleaming.

* * *

...

* * *

My father had _made_ those dolls levitate in the air.

Oddly enough, that didn't trip me out as much after giving it much thought. I had managed to somehow become reincarnated into a baby, so something like floating dolls didn't seem too unrealistic.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't focus on much of anything besides the spectacle that occurred before my very eyes. My brain replayed the event over and over again in my head, refusing to let me soak in more of my newly revealed environment. Every time my parents tried to get my attention or talk to me, I would be too deep in thought to give a solid reply, too busy wandering in my own thoughts. I was trying to make _some_ sense of what I had seen. There were a number of theories I speculated, that ranged from magic to superpowers.

Although I thought of the things that could have been plausible, it just didn't make any sense to me. I was a baby, an actual infant, but reincarnation into a new life after death wasn't anything _new_ by any stretch; reincarnation was a central tenet in some major religions, believed by many to be factual. Magic and superpowers, on the other hand, _wasn't_ possible; unless you counted comic books and fantasy novels as a dose of reality.

Were these fictional things somehow real wherever I was? That was the only theory that explained how my dad was able to levitate those dolls; and even then, that was a load of crap in itself. By the end of that day, my feeble brain felt weak and tired. As my father laid me down in my crib and tucked me in, I couldn't help but get the feeling that maybe I was just imagining things or that maybe I just didn't want to keep giving it thought. Yep, probably the latter of the two.

Quickly falling into a slumber, I let all my thoughts and worries drift away.

Whatever I saw, I would just ignore it. It didn't exist.

Maybe my undeveloped eyes were just deceiving me.

Maybe my father was just a highly-skilled magician.

Those made a lot more sense than superpowers.

* * *

...

* * *

About a week since that day, my father began showing up less and less around the house, much to my dismay. He'd wake up at the crack of dawn, pop in my room to drop me a kiss and be on his merry way for hours on end.

Sometimes he wouldn't even come home until three in the morning. I assumed it was just him working overtime at his big corporation job or something along those lines. That was the only logical explanation for him being able to afford this luxurious manor, considering since my mother also appeared to be a stay-at-home mom; that or she was still allowed to be on child-care leave. I wasn't all too sure how that kind of stuff worked, but Mom didn't appear to be stressing to get back to work if she really did have a career.

Although my father's frequent absences had worried me, it led to me and my mother spending a lot more mother-son bonding time and as you would expect, we grew closer. We pretty much spent every waking moment together.

* * *

...

* * *

" _Ichi, ni, san, shi, go_ ~!"

My eyes lit up as the vibrant images appeared on the television screen before me. Five tiny, multi-colored spandex-wearing figures popped up on the screen as their respective numbers were sung. Colorful images flew across the screen and children's voices chimed in with a sing-song tone. On the screen currently, was none other than my favorite weekly cartoon: Go-V Senshi. Since my sight had developed, watching TV has been my greatest pastime. It just so happened that while Mom was channel surfing, she came across the show. It was love at first sight and the rest is history.

At first glance, the show wasn't anything educational, mainly showing off its poorly animated action sequences; it must not have been whatever studio's main priority, but it still did an _excellent_ job at teaching and emphasizing on the value of teamwork and friendship. The wacky action scenes and zany characters just made the show, even more, addictive. The addition of the life lessons and whatnot was just an added bonus.

Yes, I was actually this invested in this colorful kiddy cartoon. Sue me.

I happily babbled, attempting to sing-along with the theme song. I gleefully danced around on her lap and looked upward to get her attention. I motioned my tiny arm towards the remote to tell her to turn up the volume. She laughed and fulfilled my wish, reaching for the remote and increasing the volume.

" _Ichi, watashitachiha kuīn V o kyūshutsu suru hitsuyō ga arimasu_!" Ni exclaimed.

" _Mochiron, maisutā Docaragalagas wa shōri shimasen_!" Ichi replied, raising his fist dramatically.

I'll admit it. Some of the voice acting in the show was godawfully shrill, but what did you expect from a low-budget children's show? That and the main villain's name was fucking ridic—

 _Ding dong!_

My thoughts scattered from my mind as my attention swayed from the show to the sudden ringing. My mother sat still for a moment before positioning me securely onto the couch and getting up to answer the door. She made her way to a black rectangle-shaped screen and clicked a button. Thanks to my _oh-so-amazing_ developing eyes, I couldn't see far enough to make out the face that appeared on the screen, but I could tell it was someone that my mother knew; her face had brightened up almost instantly upon seeing whoever was on the screen.

Was it Dad returning home early? Nah, it couldn't have been; he should have had his own key to the house.

" _Kon'nichiwa, dare ga – Ā, anata dake, Kiyo_ ," Aiko playfully teased.

Kiyo? The name didn't strike a bell. Was it a close friend of Mom's? A family member?

" _Anata mo_ , _onēsan ni aete yokatta_!" the voice on the other end responded comically. If there was one word to describe her voice, it'd be something along the lines of mellifluous; it was pleasing to the ear, just like my mother's. While listening in, I caught a word: onēsan. Based on my _extensive_ anime knowledge, onēsan should translate to big sister, so that meant that the person talking was my mother's older sister.

That would also mean that this woman was really my aunt.

I'd heard plenty of voices in the last five and a half months, but the only people I'd visibly seen face-to-face were my mother and father. The thought of seeing the rest of my family and getting to know them excited me the more I thought about it. I had come to love my new parents, just maybe not as much as my past parents. Time would help change that, for sure, but I wouldn't mind seeing and interacting with some new faces for a change.

She shook her head jokingly and clicked another button on the machine, a loud buzzer sounding. Mom, Dad, whoever's idea it was to implement one of those monitor cams was a genius. My original mother never saw any need or reason to invest money in a security system. It was always, 'The man above will protect us', or 'Our Father will shed his blood on us'. Not that I ever had any reason to believe my life would be threatened without one, I just never felt like I could be truly safe and secure without one. Having one of those high-tech security surveillance monitor systems was neat and convenient, a hell of a lot safer for us.

It was also useful for showing just how filthy rich my new old man was.

She went to open the front door and as soon as she opened the door, I saw her sister fly through the door and jump into hugging her, not daring to let go.

"Aiko!" Kiyo exclaimed, still clinging to my mother, " _Totemo koishikatta_!"

" _Watashi wa shitte iru_ , _watashi wa shitte iru_ , _watashi wa anata mo takusan nogashita_ ," Mom responded sweetly before breaking off the sisterly embrace, " _Watashitachiha suwatte mōsukoshi oitsukimasen ka_?"

After removing her shoes, my mother and aunt made their way into the living room. My aunt took one step into the area and her eyes shimmered in wonderment, marveling at her exquisite surroundings. Her eyes roved around, her hands touching nearly everything in sight. From just observing her, I could tell she was the clumsy type, as she nearly knocked over a vase and poked a hole in one of the paintings inhabiting the walls. It was so bad to the point where my mother had to keep a close watch and restrain her from touching everything; like a parent monitoring a child.

" _Uwa ̄, sore wa subarashī yōdesu_! _Anata to_ Banri _ga sono basho de yatta koto ga daisuk_!" Aunt Kiyo squealed, her eyes twinkling like stars.

" _Arigatō, sore wa atarashī basho o kazaru hitonigiridatta, sore wa sore ga yatta yō ni natte ureshī_!" Mom responded.

My new aunt admired the painting on the wall once more before turning in my direction.

Our eyes, they made contact.

" _Watashi no chīsana oi_!" she yelled out, rushing towards me. As she sped closer and closer towards me, my eyes focused in on her. My body rose in temperature and my heart pounded ferociously within my chest, as her appearance became clearer. She had red hair, in the style of a medium-cut bob, and black eyes. Her face was slightly softer and her skin was pale, way more than my mother's. Her lips were covered with a red lipstick color, her eyelashes sharp and brushed upward. She wore a black fitted faux-leather jacket and blue jeans. Topping off her fashionable outfit, she wore black boots and shiny jewelry lined her wrists and fingers. Her figure was shapely and, uh… alluring.

Ugh, what was I thinking?! I had to shake the uncomfortably weird thoughts off and fast. No matter how attractive she was, this was still _my aunt_ I was talking about.

" _Anata wa totemo sōdesu_ , _totemo airashī_! _Anata wa mada sore o shiranai ga_ , _watashi wa anata no obadeari_ , _watashi wa anata o taihen aishiteimasu_!" my aunt beamed as she held me in her arms and snuggled her face against mine.

' _This is my aunt_ , _this is my aunt_ , _this is my aunt_!'

Mom grinned from ear to ear, " _Sate watashi wa anata ni ocha o tsukutte iru ma_ , _anata ga Mirai to jikan o sugosu yō ni shimasu_." She said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

" _Watashi wa ittttttt ga sukina yō ni_ , _sore ga futtō shite atsui koto o kakuninshitekudasai_!" Kiyo shouted for Mom to hear her.

She sat down on the couch and made me stand on her lap, " _Sore wa kurutte iru_ , _anata wa anata no chichi no yōnimieru_! _Anata wa hansamuna otoko ni narudarou_!"

She continued playing with me, blowing raspberries on my stomach and tickling me until I couldn't laugh anymore. Without a doubt, my aunt was way more goofy and childish than my mother, who in juxtaposition was much calmer and collected. Despite that difference in their nature and personalities, their love felt all the same. It was crazy to believe that they really loved me as if I was there own blood. Hell, I technically was their own blood. I was a Fudo, no longer a Wright. Another thing that would take some getting used to.

While we were playing around, I couldn't help but cough almost every passing minute. Her fragrance was pleasant, but the amount of perfume she had put on was nearly unbearable for my frail nose. I got that smelling good was something that most females took pride in, but there was a limit; I'm not so sure my aunt knew that. Several minutes later, my mother came back into the living room, carrying a plate of two freshly prepared teas, " _Ocha no junbi ga dekite, imōto_."

She swiftly and deftly placed the plate on the table, taking a seat on one of the floor pillows surrounding the table soon afterward. My aunt let out a cry of happiness and plopped down on the floor with me in her lap. Waving the steam from the tea towards her nose, she inhaled, following her vigorous sniff with a contented sigh.

" _Sore wa subarashī nioi ga suru_! _Shikashi_ , _gimon wa_ , _soreha aji ga yoi yō ni ajiwaimasu ka_?" I heard my aunt say. My mother replied with a dry laugh and said something, once again, incomprehensible to me.

I continued listening in on their conversation before I got bored of listening to the constant gibberish and tuned back into the weekly Go-V episode. While I didn't know much of what they were saying to each other, I could tell a lot from their facial expressions and the emotion that emanated in their voices.

There was laughter every other moment, and there was never a break in their conversation. Their eyes stayed locked the whole time and they were continuously engaged in what the other was saying. From what I was witnessing, they were as close as two siblings could be. It was sort of a bittersweet feeling for me. On one hand, I was happy to witness the beautiful, deep-seated relationship between my mother and aunt, but on the other, I was jealous. _Very jealous_. I had the unfortunate pleasure of not having someone that I could call my _blood_ brother or sister. I'd always dreamed of having a younger sibling with whom I could share tons of memories together. I wanted to be known as an older brother, a role model for my little brother or sister.

I wanted to experience everything that came with having a sibling: the bickering, the sibling rivalry, the laughs, the tears.

Everything; but life wasn't always what you wanted. Instead, I was stuck as the only child; having to resort to using the proclaimed title for my close friends and cousins. The episode eventually cut and went on commercial break, forcing me to pass the time by focusing back in on the conversation again.

" _Dakara Kiyo_ , _hontōni koko_ _ni kita_ _no_?" Mom said, placing her empty teacup on the table.

" _W_ \- _nani_ _o itte_ _iru nodesu_ _ka watashi wa_ _tada hoshikatta_ –" My aunt slumped defeated.

She stuck her arm out in my mother's direction, " _Watashi wa anata_ no _atarashī kōtosurību o shūsei suru_ _hitsuyō ga arimashita_..."

I looked at her arm. There was a tear at the bottom of the sleeve, and my aunt seemed quite upset with it.

" _Anata ga saigo ni mita toki kara kawatte inai yōdesu_ ," Mom laughed.

She moved over next to me and Kiyo. She took hold of her arm and examined the tear. Several moments passed before she released her grip on Auntie's sleeve, " _Sorehodo daijina_ _koto wa_ , _anata_ _ga motto sekininwomotte iru yō ni miemasu_."

" _Ha_ - _ha_ - _ha_ , _chōdo watashi_ _o tasuketekudasai_ , Aiko! _Watashi_ _wa senshū kōnyū_ shimashita!" Auntie pouted, akin to a child.

I legitimately had trouble believing she was the eldest of the two.

Mom chuckled before putting her hand on the torn part of the jacket.

Then once again, something weird happened.

Thin red lines began sprouting from my mother's fingertips. They looked like threads or some kind of strand material. Why in the world is something like that coming out of her fingers though?!

She moved her monstrosity of a hand towards the sleeve, and the threads began to extend slowly before latching onto the tear. Weaving and entwining into the tear, the threads began repairing the damage that was dealt to it.

Within a single moment, the jacket's sleeve was completely fixed up and the tear was no more. It was stitched so perfectly that anyone wouldn't have been able to tell that the tear was even there to begin with.

And I had just witnessed all of it happen within a flash.

Auntie breathed a sigh of relief, " _Ritorushisu, anata wa inochi o sukuu hitodesu_!"

She stared down at me and waved her sleeve in front of my face as if she were showing it off.

" _Kanojo wa anata no oba no jaketto, Mirai o shūsei shimashita_!" Auntie shouted, " _Kanojo no kuwakku wa subarashī node wanaidesu ka_?" Is what she said to me, but I paid no attention to her words. I looked up at Mom, not sure of what in the world was going on.

My eyes wandered to her hands. The red threads had since dispersed and everything was back to normal. The monstrous appendage had returned to a pristine, seamless hand.

If it wasn't apparent before, it sure was now. Something was _definitely_ going on here.

* * *

Translations:

 **Anata wa odoroki** **o tanoshinda** **ka, musukodesu** **ka: Did you enjoy the surprise, son?**

 **Ichi, ni, san, shi, go~: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!**

 **Ichi, watashitachiha** **kuīn V o kyūshutsu suru** **hitsuyō ga arimasu** **: 1, we can't let him just take 5!**

 **Mochiron, maisutā Docaragalagas wa** **shōri shimasen** **: Docaragalagas isn't going to get away with this!**

 **Kon'nichiwa, dare ga – Ā, anata dake** **, Kiyo: Hello, who is – oh, it's just you, Kiyo!**

 **Anata mo, onēsan ni aete yokatta** **: Nice to see you too, little sister!**

 **Totemo koishikatta** **: I've missed you so much!**

 **Watashi wa shitte** **iru, watashi wa shitte** **iru, watashi wa anata** **mo takusan nogashita** **: I know, I know, I've missed you plenty too.**

 **Watashitachiha suwatte** **mōsukoshi oitsukimasen** **ka: How about we go sit down and catch up some more?**

 **Uwa ̄, sore wa** **subarashī yōdesu! Anata to Banri ga** **sono** **basho de yatta koto ga** **daisuk** **: Wow, it looks amazing! I love what you and Banri have done with the place!**

 **Arigatō, sore wa** **atarashī basho o kazaru hitonigiridatta** **, sore wa** **sore ga yatta yō ni** **natte** **ureshī: Thank you, it was a handful trying to decorate the new place, glad it turned out the way it did!**

 **Watashi no chīsana oi: My little nephew!**

 **Anata wa totemo** **sōdesu,** **totemo** **airashī! Anata wa moto** **sore o shiranai** **ga, watashi wa anata** **no obadeari, watashi wa anata** **o taihen aishiteimasu** **: You're so, so, adorable! You don't know it yet, but I'm your auntie and I love you very much!**

 ** _S_ ate watashi wa anata** **ni** **ocha** **o tsukutte** **iru ma, anata** **ga Mirai to jikan** **o sugosu** **yō ni shimasu** **: Well I'll let you spend some time with Mirai while I go make us some tea.**

 **Watashi wa ittttttt** **ga sukina** **yō ni, sore ga futtō shite atsui** **koto o kakuninshitekudasai** **: Make sure to make it boiling hot** , **like I like ittttttt** **!**

 **Sore wa kurutte** **iru, anata wa anata** **no chichi no yōnimieru! Anata wa hansamuna otoko ni narudarou** **: It's crazy, you look so much like your father! You're going to be a handsome man!**

 **Ocha no junbi** **ga dekite** **, imōto: Tea's ready, sister.**

 **Sore wa** **subarashī nioi** **ga suru** **! Shikashi,** **gimon wa** **, soreha** **aji ga yoi** **yō ni ajiwaimasu** **ka:**

 **Dakara Kiyo, hontōni koko ni kita** **no: So Kiyo, what did you really come here for?**

 **W -** **nani** **o itte** **iru nodesu** **ka watashi wa** **tada hoshikatta** **: W-What? I only wanted to see –**

 **Watashi wa anata** **no atarashī kōtosurību o shūsei suru** **hitsuyō ga arimashita** **: I needed you to fix my brand new coat sleeve…**

 **Anata ga saigo** **ni mita toki** **kara kawatte inai** **yōdesu: Seems you haven't changed since the last time I've seen you.**

 **Sorehodo daijina** **koto wa** **,** **anata** **ga motto sekininwomotte** **iru yō ni miemasu** **: Nothing too major, looks like you have gotten more responsible.**

 **Ha-ha-ha, chōdo watashi** **o tasuketekudasai** **, Aiko! Watashi wa** **senshū kōnyū shimashita** **: Hahaha, thanks for helping me! You're the best!**

 **Ritorushisu, anata wa inochi o sukuu hitodesu** **!: Little sis, you're a life-saver!**

 **Kanojo wa anata** **no oba no jaketto** **, Mirai o shūsei shimashita** **: She fixed your aunt's jacket, Mirai!**

 **Kanojo no kuwakku wa subarashī node wanaidesu ka: Isn't her Quirk amazing?**

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, another "supernatural ability" has appeared again! This time around, it should be much more clear what this Quirk is. Just in case anyone is wondering, yes, Mirai will have a Quirk. Now that both of his parents' Quirks have been revealed, I'll just leave it up to everyone to make their predictions! In terms of these Japanese translations, I'm just going to confirm it. After next chapter, there won't be any translations. That means no more having to scroll up and down, something that could potentially ruin your immersion.**

 **That's about all I wanted to cover in this note. Wherever you are, have a good day/night and be safe! :)**


	4. New Life Arc: Chapter 3

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

 **I apologize in advance for the large number of translations used in this chapter! I promise we're nearing the point where translations won't need to be a thing!**

 **Again, sorry!**

* * *

Chapter 03: Baby Developments and Bad News

* * *

First, Dad was controlling and making dolls _levitate_.

Now, Mom is creating threads from her _fingertips_.

If it _wasn't_ apparent before, it damn sure was now. Something was definitely going on here. I couldn't ignore everything now, as if everything were hunky-dory.

From face value, both of them seemed like regular people. I'd hardly agree with that testament any longer after seeing both of them unleash those freakish abilities that they somehow possessed.

They weren't average and nobody seemed to be bothered by that.

When Dad was busy controlling the floating dolls, Mom had the biggest smile on her face, like she was enjoying the show happening in front of us. And just now, Mom sprouted colored threads out of her fingertips and Auntie didn't even bat an eye! You would think someone would freak out or pass out if they saw such a magnificent phenomenon, but nope.

 _Nonchalant_ reactions.

There was only one conclusion that I had came to: whatever these powers that my parents had, they were essentially commonplace.

Though I had only witnessed both of them using their powers, it wouldn't be totally off to guess that other people in this unfamiliar world had superpowers or whatever the hell their abilities were called.

A world where humans had superpowers. Could… superheroes exist here?

Maybe I was reaching too far with that thought, but normally wherever superpowers were, superheroes followed.

* * *

...

* * *

With all the thoughts and ideas I had scrambling around in my head, I barely got any rest for most of that night.

You could imagine how annoyed I was when I heard the flickering of the lights and the loud creaking of my bedroom door.

Early morning for me I guess. _Fuck_.

On top of almost getting _no_ rest, I was already frustrated from having my sleep disturbed in general; I absolutely hated waking up or being woken up early. I could go to sleep at six in the afternoon on a school night and still manage to somehow oversleep and miss my first bus. My former parents always made sure to scold me on the bad habit, but it was literally out of my control.

That's just how I've always been and it'd take a miracle to change that.

My eyes reluctantly opened, the surrounding light of the room striking them without warning. I winced for a moment before my eyes quickly adjusted to the harsh glare of the precipitous illumination.

Looking upward, the giant murderer of my peaceful sleep's eyes met mine.

My heart tugged.

It was... Dad.

I blinked once, believing my eyes were deceiving me.

I blinked once more. Opening them a second time, nothing changed.

He was still there. He was _really_ there!

I reached my arms out at him, silently begging for him to pick me up. I felt a sudden rush of emotion overwhelmed me. All of the sorrow and sadness that had culminated from my father's frequent absences came back, in full force. I had missed the guy; no matter how much I enjoyed the time with my mother, it just wasn't the same without him around.

He flashed me his trademark goofy smile, " _Ohayō_ , _musuko_! _Anata no_ _otōsan wa hayai uchi ni koko ni iru_!"

His hands reached inside of the crib and cautiously grabbed hold of me. Bringing me up to his chest, he hummed a light tune and gently rocked me in the crook of his arm.

" _Watashi wa_ _betcha_ ' _watashi o_ _nogashita_ , _anata wa_ _shite inai_?" Dad said, " _Mōshiwakearimasenga_ _watashi wa_ _mawari ni sa rete imasen_. _Sore wa chōdo_ _anata ga watashi_ _to onajiyōni_ _yoi eiyūdearu_ _toki no hōhōdesu_!"

In response to whatever he was saying, I laughed and spewed some noises out, trying my best to make a comprehensive "good morning Dad", despite the language barrier. Combined together, our laughs echoed throughout the entire house. Quickly realizing we were being way too loud, he ceased his laughter and looked at me in complete seriousness, placing one finger to my lips. I quickly hushed.

" _Shhh_ , _anata_ _no_ _okāsan o mezame sasemasen_ ," Dad whispered.

He walked outside of my room and into the hallway and listened into the next room to make sure that he hadn't disturbed Mom's rest.

Once he deemed that everything was clear, he breathed in a sigh of relief. A smile overtook the worried expression on his face again.

" _Sore wa andodesu_. _Dakara_ , _anata wa_ _kūfukudesu ka_?" He said, while rubbing gentle circles with his fingers on my stomach.

Why was he rubbing my stomach—? Almost instantaneously, my little stomach erupted into a growl.

The stomach had spoken. I was _hungry_.

Hopefully, I wouldn't be getting fed baby food. It was vital for my health as a growing baby, but that didn't stop the smashed chunks of food from being downright _awful_.

As a baby, you'd think I would get some sort of newfound love for baby food, but nope. It was just as gooey, soupy, and disgusting as it appeared. In my early days of infancy, my parents couldn't do so much as stick a spoonful of baby food into my mouth without me throwing it all up.

Although it was still just as disgusting as it was when I first tasted it, I at least tried to not think about the taste and swallow it. It made my parents' lives easier and leagues less stressful. Their happiness was my own, so it seemed worth it despite it being such a small thing to do. He lifted his left hand from my legs and slammed it over his mouth. I could see the tears building up in his eyes and his quivering lips, barely holding in yet another raucous laughter.

I understood I was quite the comedian but was I really _that_ funny?

" _A_ - _a_ - _anata_ _ga kūfukuda to o-omou_ , Mirai!" he managed to get out, little guffaws nearly breaking the fluency of his words, " _Son_ ' _nani sukina_ _ryokutō_ _to yasai_ _no_ _bebīfūdo o te ni ireyou_!"

Bebīfūdo.

Those dreaded words nearly split my ears. My whole entire attitude changed and I think Dad could tell, as a sweat drop was falling from the side of his face.

I eagerly looked forward to the day when I could finally get back to eating normal, _solid_ food.

* * *

Just as I had expected, Dad had fed me my usual despised breakfast: baby food. May I add that it was the _horrific_ Green Peas and Vegetable mix. Let's just say, it took several messy mishaps before I was able to finally force myself to swallow and digest the green, soupy food. _Excellent_ choice of breakfast cuisine there, Dad.

I couldn't have felt sicker to my stomach by the end of the breakfast meal.

I don't know how much longer I can stand stomaching this shitty excuse for food, but something had to change. Fast.

Afterward, Dad and I spent most of that morning together. Placing me on the soft floor in the living room, Dad followed suit and plopped down in front of me. We spent most of that time talking, well, as best we _could_ , playing little flash card games, and me being held against my will to listen to him tell his jokes which I still _couldn't_ understand, no matter how much I tried to use bodily clues to understand what he was getting at.

Everything seemed to be going well, I was enjoying the time that I had been missing out on with him, but after a while, I noticed something was different with Dad. Not his personality, he was still the same peppy jokester, but something as well—

Off with his appearance.

I don't know how I didn't notice it as soon as I saw him but his arms were wrapped tightly with bandages. His face also had a couple of scratches to them, albeit barely noticeable. I was probably so excited to see Dad that it all just flew past me.

It was more than just a little strange. Naturally, I was worried. Both of his arms were covered in bandages like he was recovering from a heavy wound.

I was sure that he worked as a businessman, so how in the _world_ did he get hurt like that?!

From there on, I felt lost in thought. I clearly wasn't acting like my usual self, and Dad was becoming more and more worried as I became less and less enthusiastic with him.

He persisted on getting me to smile. I tried to feign my excitement, but I just wasn't in the mood for it all.

The more I tried to think and brainstorm, the more I felt a migraine coming on.

The more time went on, the more these strange things kept occurring.

I was sick and tired of knowing nothing. I _needed_ answers. This was all happening out of nowhere and I had so much to process.

Crazy thing is, I knew I was barely scratching the surface of the still all-too-mysterious world I was reborn into and what came with it.

* * *

From that day on, everything seemed to shift. I was seeing Dad a bit more than usual, as he would make a habit of returning home from work at around nine now.

Thirty minutes before my scheduled bed-time.

That was thirty minutes for family bonding, and I looked forward to it every day. Dad had his on and off days coming home with his arms bandaged up, but surprisingly, his attitude and actions never wavered.

He was still the same.

I eventually came to terms that there was no reason to worry about the minor scratches he came home with every so often. Mom didn't look too worried so why should I be?

Other than that, I never really got a chance to see my parents use their 'hidden' powers again.

No floating dolls.

No glowing strands of material.

It all felt normal; just like how it was about two months ago. It was as if their powers hadn't existed in the first place.

It was during this time that time seemed to move along fairly quickly. My vision continuously improved and I steadily began to develop as a baby.

* * *

My mother had started making a conscious effort to teach me the fundamental basics of the Japanese language and I couldn't have been any more ecstatic.

The Japanese language deeply intrigued me when I first started getting into the culture of anime and manga. The gentle soft tender sounds, and the way Japanese people pronounce in the front of their mouths, with their tongue tips and lips, with a high tempo, ethereal and emotive, like a mouth ballet pirouette. The Japanese language was easily one of the most beautiful languages to ever hit my ears, the way it flowed and sounded attracted me.

I'd always wanted to take a stab at learning the foreign language, but well – life happened.

When we first started, it wasn't as easy as I expected but thanks to my fairly advanced brain, I was able to develop a grasp on the vowels of the language quickly. I loved the face my mother made whenever I was able to successfully repeat the sounds she made after a couple tries. I'm almost sure she thought I was one of those young genius babies because afterward, she would use complete sentences to test me, though it didn't work out as she planned.

Aside from me being able to process the information quickly, I believe it was also my mother's teaching that was impacting how fast I was learning. She was by no means a perfect teacher, as she tended to move a bit too fast for my pace. I was more of a hands-on learner throughout my years of education, but all of her other good qualities outshined that single negative.

She possessed all the necessary qualities to be an outstanding teacher. She was patient, was able to articulate and deliver the knowledge without any major problems, and she always made sure to praise me whenever I did well.

That could just be my personal bias, with her being my Mom and all but that's how I felt.

With how well she was handling me, I wouldn't be surprised if she worked as a teacher.

* * *

After a while of crawling and crawling continuously, I had gained a nice grasp on my movement skill. By being around the floor a lot, I had become self-sufficient, my body and its muscles developing to the point where I could crawl around effortlessly. My parents seemed to notice how well I was progressing and gave me slightly more freedom around the house, though they still made sure to keep close eyes on me.

I was still just a _baby_ after all.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday were days dedicated to developing my skills as a baby and make sure I was on target as to where I should be and heading as I aged.

Because they didn't want to overload my "fragile" mind, they broke my lessons and activities up into separate blocks and days; kind of like school periods.

On Mondays, from nine in the morning to noon, Mom taught me communication skills and began to get me used to the language, little by little. Once in a while, she took a more creative approach and used a language-speaking course; which was taught by some green, weird-looking extraterrestrial. Besides the big, green Barney-wannabe, it was a pretty helpful course; helping me memorize certain words, just by the funny cues and actions it produced.

While learning Japanese was going to be critical to my environment, I also made sure to maintain my trained grip on English. I thought of it like a memento in a way. Being stripped of my name, nationality, and family, it was the last thing I truly had from my former life.

On Wednesdays, it was "Burokku to furasshukādo no hi!" according to my parents. It didn't take long for me to decipher exactly what it meant. I was pretty sure it translated to "blocks and flash cards", and it sounded almost completely the same way.

That may have been ignorant and incorrect of me but hey, it was just a guess.

Just as I thought, my hypothesis ended up being correct.

What you see is what you get; Mom let me play with blocks and worked to help me build a block tower. At first, playing with wooden colored blocks didn't seem like something that would hold my attention for very long, but boy was I wrong. It didn't top video games by any stretch but it was pretty fun for a pastime. I even made a goal to reach: to build the greatest block tower known to all, well, children; it gave me extra incentive, something to push myself to work towards.

Flash-card activities followed the blocks, focusing on getting me used to different things. The cards consisted of three things: animals, objects and shapes. I knew everything they were showing me but learning the names was a totally different story.

Uma was horse in Japanese.

Car translated to Kuruma in Japanese.

Sankakkei was triangle in Japanese.

Yeah, balancing English and Japanese _wasn't_ going to be as easy as I thought.

* * *

...

* * *

I was as fast as lightning, probably second to the Flash.

When I got moving around after my studying periods, almost no one could catch me. With the ability to crawl, I took full advantage of it and began searching and finding out more of the localities within the manor.

If you asked my parents how to describe me, they would probably say I was an inquisitive child.

I was always poking and prodding at my surroundings. I would sneak away, all ninja-like, and get my hands on whatever object piqued my interest. Since I wasn't your _average_ baby, who was just learning along the way not to eat this off the floor or touch that incredibly sharp object, I was confident I wouldn't get hurt or anything, but of course, my parents weren't aware of that.

I couldn't count the times they had went into a panic, searching through the whole house for me.

Mom would _literally_ tear the entire house apart looking for me. Whenever she did find me, she would tightly grab a hold of me, tears building in her eyes. Dad, whenever he was around, would be too busy weeping loudly to do anything, almost like _he_ was the child.

Sometimes I scolded myself for stressing them out all over again. It was a harsh callback to the times when me screaming at the top of my lungs almost every day was a normal occurrence. Making them worry about me was never my intention. Even though that was true, I would have to be more considerate to their feelings and responsibilities as parents.

* * *

 _..._

* * *

 _Clang!_

The sound of metal clanking against something stole my attention from the blockhouse I was building.

The _hell_ was that?

I could hear a familiar voice follow after the unexpected din.

" _Tawagoto_ , _watashi_ _no ashi_!"

Dad's home _this_ early? It's like two in the afternoon.

" _Anata no iitai_ _koto_ , Banri!" Mom scolded from the kitchen, where she was whipping up an early dinner for the family.

" _G_ - _Gomen ne anata_!"

 _Clank! Clank!_

Dad belted out loud, trying to restrain himself from cursing again, " _Sh_ - _danjito_!"

I had to go see what the commotion was.

Turning away from the blocks, I got on the move. Dad's constant yelling made it easy to locate him. I found him in one of the many rooms occupying the hallway of the first floor. The door was slightly cracked open, leaving barely any view of the interior.

I'd fix that. Inching my body slightly forward, I grabbed hold of the door and pushed it open. Fully maneuvering my arms and legs, I slithered into the room.

Ironically, even with all the exploring, I felt I did, this was, somehow, a room that I hadn't discovered yet. Looking around and studying my new surroundings, I noticed that it was a relatively smaller space than I expected it to be, but it was still a bit bigger than a regular home office. Tatami material lined the floor, something I had grown accustomed to from the exposure of it around the house. There was a desk and office chair, a computer sitting on the desk, and a large bookshelf in the corner of the room. However, none of that really caught my eye. Several shelves lined the wall, each filled to the brim with a _helluva_ lot of dolls. A mixture of regular plushies, action figures, and little figurine dolls were neatly organized and on full display.

Well, I had a feeling Dad had "some" interest in dolls and all, but this... this just seemed like a full-blown obsession. Then again, there was nothing wrong with being this passionate about something you loved. It didn't stop this room from freaking me the fuck out.

Ignoring the eerie feeling I had, I homed in on Dad. He was standing in the far corner of the room, clutching onto something with his hand. I crawled closer to get a better look at whatever Dad was holding. Blinking twice to refocus my vision, my eyes devoured the item's appearance. In his hand was a small, rounded, and red mask, covering only the eyes and space between them.

A domino mask?

" _Saisho wa_ _ishō ga tekisho_ _ni wa fitto shite inainode, watashi no masuku ni wa katto ga arimasu_!" Dad exclaimed, obviously a little irritated, " _Ā_ , _taishita koto_ _wa arimasen_. _Watashi wa_ _chōdo Aiko o watashi no_ _tame ni sore_ _o shūsei_ _suru yō ni narimasu_."

He stood up and continued doing whatever he was already doing before. Guess nothing was happening in here. Thinking I had just wasted a good three minutes of my time, I made my back to the door.

 _Shwoosh_!

A fricative sound came from whatever Dad was looking at, air emerging from it. Peeking over his shoulder, I got a glimpse of the… the machine?!

The silver machine expanded, different compartments revealing themselves seemingly from nowhere. He placed the mask in one of the slots and clicked a button, the machine loudly retracting before powering down. As the machine, whatever it was, began closing, I saw a large black jacket with a regular collar and enlarged coattails. I could tell there were other things in the compartments, but the distance was too great. All I could tell was they were shiny, like a crisp metallic color. Originating from the 21st century, I was sure something like this was probably already possible _and_ invented, but I had never witnessed it up front, this seemed like something from a Star Trek movie or some other random Sci-Fi flick.

This was without a doubt some futuristic tech. Not too far advanced from something from my past life, but something that would probably be possible in one year due to our ever-expanding grasp on the art of technology, two years maximum.

Dad stretched his body out, stifling a yawn with one hand and scratching his rear end with the other. Turning around, he headed out of the office room. Well, he had been heading out until he caught sight of me, sitting there looking at the mechanical contraption I witnessed.

"Mirai!" he beamed, kneeling down and picking me up, " _Anata wa_ _papa o minogashimasu_ _ka_?"

" _Otōsan wa kono_ _hīrō no subete_ _no shigoto_ _kara sutoresu_ _o kanjimashita_! _Mamī to issho_ _ni tanoshiku sugoshimashou_." Dad laughed heartily, before leaving out the room with me in tow.

Maybe I was reading too much into it. He could just be preparing a Masquerade party, right?

* * *

" _Hoē_ , _basu taimu_!" Mom cried out, as she softly and gently massaged the shampoo throughout my hair. Meanwhile, I fiddled around in the tub with a yellow rubber duck Mom gave me, taking in the relaxing moment.

Ah, bath time.

If there was one positive about this whole situation, it'd probably be this. Sometimes it served as a moment for reflection, but most of the time it was a time to simply relax after a long day of playing, learning and searching.

Yet another positive to this wondrous bathing: being able to connect a little more with my new—well— my mother. I had long since stopped referring to her as my new mom. Even if that was the truth, it still felt like I was rejecting the fact that this woman that had given birth to me wasn't my mother, so I abandoned that mentality.

" _Papa_ wa _kyō patorōru_ _kara ienikaeru_! _Anata wa_ _kōfun shite imasu ka_?" Mom asked, her eyes twinkling joyfully and excitement humming from her voice.

She mentioned Dad in whatever she was saying. Putting that together, I let out a bright smile.

"Paaa!" I remarked in response.

Now that I thought about it, this was normally about the time Dad strolled in, exhausted from a long day of work, doing whatever he did.

* * *

After a few minutes of scrubbing and washing my soaped up body off, Mom wrapped me up with a towel and hoisted me out of the tub.

On our way to her and Dad's room, she sang a song to me, lightly shuffling around rhythmically.

" _Ā_ , _watashi_ _no amai_ _ko_ 〜" she sang, " _Anata_ , _watashi no ai wa miraidesu_ 〜"

In all honesty, Mom's voice was—

 _Brrrrrrringgg_!

The ringing of the telephone disrupted Mom's singing and grabbed our attention.

Mom ceased all movement, looking at the gleaming telephone on its station, " _Sore ga darena_ _no ka fushigi_."

Changing courses, she walked over to the telephone and grabbed ahold of the object. She checked the caller ID before answering it, " _Moshi moshi_?"

I could hear a masculine voice over the other end of the line, though it was unrecognizable to my ear. Mom continued talking with the man, nodding her head in response to the man. That's when the air grew cold, and Mom's face shifted dangerously.

"Akira, _anata wa nani o iou to shite iru nodesu ka_?" she blurted out, almost maliciously.

I'd never forgotten the kind of face Mom had. It was a look of pure terror. The color of her face seemed to pale and her eyes widened, as if in disbelief. It was as if she were in a trance, the way she started trembling.

It was as if a switch had been flipped. Mom's calm and collecting character shifted drastically, it was too evident. Shivers ran down my spine, and I could practically hear the increasing thumping of my heartbeat. I felt a dreading feeling course through my body, causing me to shudder involuntarily.

I was afraid.

A single tear escaped from Mom's face, landing on my cheek.

Something was wrong.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 **Ohayō, musuko** **! Anata no otōsan wa hayai uchi ni koko ni iru** **: Good morning, son! Your dad is here, early for a change!**

 **Watashi wa** **betcha' watashi** **o nogashita, anata wa** **shite inai** **: I betcha' missed me didn't you?**

 **Mōshiwakearimasenga watashi wa mawari** **ni sa** **rete imasen** **: Sorry I haven't been around as much.**

 **Sore wa** **chōdo anata** **ga watashi** **to onajiyōni yoi** **eiyūdearu toki** **no hōhōdesu: That's just how it is when you're as good a Hero as me!**

 **Shhh, anata** **no okāsan o mezame sasemasen** **: Shhh, let's not wake your mother up.**

 **A-a-anata** **ga kūfukuda to o-omou** **, Mirai: I-I-I guess you really are hungry, Mirai!**

 **Son'nani sukina** **ryokutō to yasai** **no bebīfūdo o te ni ireyou** **: Let's get you some of that good green beans and vegetables baby food you like so much!**

 **Bebīfūdo: Baby food.**

 **Sore wa, yoi otokonokodesu** **: That's it, good boy!**

 **Burokku to furasshukādo no hi: Blocks and Flash Card Days!**

 **Tawagoto, watashi** **no ashi** **: Shit, my foot!**

 **Anata no me o oboete kudasai** **: Mind your language, Banri!**

 **G-Gomen ne anata** **: S-Sorry, honey!**

 **Sh - danjito** **: Sh-Dangit!**

 **Saisho wa** **ishō ga tekisho** **ni wa fitto** **shite inainode, watashi** **no masuku** **ni wa katto** **ga arimasu** **: First the costume's not fitting in place, now my mask has a cut in it!**

 **Ā, taishita** **koto wa arimasen** **. Watashi wa** **chōdo Aiko o watashi** **no tame ni sore o shūsei suru** **yō ni narimasu** **: Oh well, no big deal. I'll just get Aiko to fix it up for me.**

 **Anata wa papa o minogashimasu ka: You miss Papa?**

 **Otōsan wa kono** **hīrō no subete** **no shigoto** **kara sutoresu** **o kanjimashita** **! Mamī to issho** **ni tanoshiku sugoshimashou** **: Dad's been stressed from all this Hero work! Let's have some fun with Mommy.**

 **Hoē, basu taimu** **: Wheee, bath time!**

 **Sore ga darena** **no ka fushigi** **: Wonder who that could be.**

 **Ā, watashi** **no amai** **ko 〜: Ohhh, my sweet child~**

 **Anata, watashi** **no ai wa miraidesu** **〜: You, my love, are the future~**

* * *

 **A/N: Oooh, a cliffhanger! We're almost finished with all this baby stuff, so you can rejoice about that! Not to get people's hopes up, but it should take about another three or four chapters before I get into the next phase of this story, since I'm about to introduce a couple plot points and a certain someone's Quirk! Let's see if y'all can guess what it is!**

 **Side note, so if it wasn't evident from this chapter, I've been playing a lot of (probably way too much) of Sims 4 lately. For those who don't know or aren't familiar with the basic skills for the toddlers of the game, it's basically five categories: communication, imagination, thinking, movement and potty and decided to use communication, thinking, and movement.**

 **I decided to incorporate it into this since I wasn't sure how I was going to go about writing his development since I had a few ideas I couldn't decide on. Needless to say, the inspiration is directed from that! Thanks Maxis and EA!**

 **That's all for this Author's Note. Whoever is reading this, have a great day and enjoy yourself!**


	5. New Life Arc: Chapter 4

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

 **An important announcement that I know all of my readers will be excited to hear: this is the second-to-last chapter for translations! No more having to waste time scrolling back and forth, ruining the immersion. The only con is that unfortunately, the beginning of this chapter is pretty dialogue heavy.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 04: Discovery

* * *

We reached the white double doors with their plastic band stapled halfway and their dull chrome handles. The automatic doors swung open soundlessly and with ease. A draft of air hit my face, cold and with a tincture of bleach. Mom hastily pressed on, rushing over to the receptionist's desk. I could hear her heavy panting after nearly every breath. She had been like this since that phone call, quickly rushing to hook me into my car seat and speed off to the hospital.

That single tear that left from Mom's eye, to see her so emotional and crying like that, it shook me. It only furthered the horrible feeling I had building up in my stomach. Twists and turns intensified in my stomach to the point where I felt like I was going to vomit any second now.

Fuck, just what _was_ going on here? I could feel my mental lock collapsing, the pressure of my internal struggle gnawing at it relentlessly. I wanted nothing more than to eliminate every single pessimistic thought I had piled up in my head, I really did, but they always seemed to creep their way right back in; as if they were wanted in the first goddamn place.

" _Watashinonamaeha Fudō_ _no itoshigodesu_ ; _watashi wa_ _fu do Banri o hōmon suru_ _tame ni koko_ _ni iru_! _Kare wa koko_ _ni nyūin shita_ —!" Mom barked frantically, only to be cut off by the woman seated at the front desk.

" _Ochitsuite kudasai_ ," the front desk receptionist replied in an effort to calm her down. She then held out a finger at Mom as to tell her to hold on a second and went to check the list of recent hospital entries, " _Fudo-san wa_ _heya #4 ni imasu_ —"

As swift as the words left the woman's lips, Mom moved even swifter; urgently taking off, the rest of what the lady had to say becoming nothing more than wasted breath. Zooming through the hallway, I observed the minimal flow of visitors going and leaving and on-the-clock nurses wheeling around the sick and injured patients. With the lack of visitors here, it must've been nearing the end of visiting hours.

" _Osoreirimasuga_ , _yoroshikuongegaiitashimasu_!" she vociferated, the clicking and clacking of her sandals almost overtaking her words. She made every effort to not rudely brush past any of the fellow visitors, on top of having to laboriously carry me around.

"Banri... _anata_ _dake ga_ _kiku dakenaraba_!" Mom rasped. The hoarse in her voice was evident, her already irregular breathing escalating almost to the point of hyperventilating.

I stared upward at Mom from the car seat. Her pale face was all the same, but her cheeks were sodden and red from her tears. I could feel an unbearable heat rise within me. I wanted to scream and tell her that everything was going to be okay, to calm down and breathe. In a time like this, remaining calm was essential. That's what I kept telling myself over and over again.

So why was I beginning to crumble?

If only I could understand what they were saying.

If only I could speak like I wanted to.

You'd think I would be used to being out of the loop, but not at a time like this; not now.

Whatever it was that was bothering her like this, I wanted to help! I wanted to know just what was going on!

Jumping to conclusions was something that I tended to avoid, but with all this going on right now; it was hitting its breaking point. Usually, when you think of going to a hospital, it wasn't for a goddamn picnic. The whole entire ride here I had tried to push the idea down, to keep my chin up and think happy thoughts; but what good would that do when all I could do was listen to Mom's constant sobbing.

It wasn't Mom's fault; she was only doing what was natural in her situation. I'm sure she was feeling horrible about whatever was happening, but it didn't help me mentally or emotionally. The hysterical way she was acting, it wasn't just for nothing.

Regardless of how I was trying to act, the thought of someone important dying struck me. And it seemed imminent by the looks of it.

Fuck, where was Dad at a time like this? Was his job or whatever he was doing more important than—?

No.

It couldn't be, right? Not my old man… right?

It could've been anyone here in this hospital, so why would my mind jump straight to him?

No, he couldn't be involved with any of this. Stop it, Christo—Mirai. He was probably just working overtime like he's been doing for the past couple months I'm sure.

No need to panic.

Oh, who was I kidding?

I knew who was going to be in that room already, I fucking knew it, but that didn't stop it from hurting all the more. This feeling in my gut, I couldn't reject it.

Not any longer.

Memories of him played in my head, something like a slideshow left on flash forward. At the end of it, all I could see was his face. That brilliant smile, those wisecracks which I still couldn't follow all that well, his kindheartedness and boundless affection. A lump jammed in my throat, threatening not to pass into the depths of my belly. My eyes stung; the headlights above only making it worse. I tried my best to hold it in, to be strong for Mom, but I just couldn't.

The lock—it broke.

I felt the muscles of my chin tremble. A sole tear fell down from eyes, followed by another one and another and another until soon, a constant stream of tears flowed its way down my cheeks. My lips quivered before I ultimately gave in. My façade shattered, a heart-wrenching wail breaking from my mouth. No doubt I was disturbing the serenity of the hospital, but I didn't give a damn. I repeatedly told myself to calm down, but my body continued to disobey my wishes.

Mom took notice of my outburst and lowered her head to peek at me. She looked right into my eyes and gave me a faint smile, pain obviously dripping from it. She was still trying to put on a fake smile; just to try to keep me at peace.

" _Shā, daijōbudesu_. _Subete ga daijōbu_ _ni narudarou_ , Mirai," She cooed softly.

Despite her efforts, the tears never stopped coming. Whatever she said was still like chicken scratch on a paper, but the way she spoke. My continuous display of overflowing emotion didn't show it, but in the inside, I felt a tiny shard of hope left.

Please… please let him be okay!

* * *

...

* * *

The elevator ride was the epitome of silent. Although words weren't being exchanged, the silence spoke volumes.

I sniffled, vacuuming the leaking snot back into my nostrils. The tense feeling hadn't left, but my body felt stable again; but damn did I hate crying. It felt great to get out some of that pent-up anxiety but a runny nose and stinging eyes I could do without.

 _Ding_ , _ding_!

The ding sounded, the metal elevator doors rifting from each other. Mom tightened her grip on the car seat handle and exited the elevator. She checked both ways before heading in the left direction. As she walked, I noticed her pace. It had lessened compared to the crazy way she was running to get to this point.

I poked my head out and took a gulp before opening up to speak, "Maaaa…"

She didn't look at me.

" _Hōrudo_... _watashitachi wa hobo soko ni iru_ ," Mom replied.

Her voice… I'd never heard her like that before. It was distant like she was speaking without intent or purpose, as if she was genuinely lost.

She was like... a zombie.

I leaned back. Just a couple more steps and everything will reveal itself. We'll see him lying in his bed, everything will be peaches and cream, we'll get past this and continue on as a lovely family; just as we've been doing.

But what if it wasn't?

Part of me wanted to see him, hug him, share a laugh with him, but another part didn't want to see him in a painful condition. If I were to see him severely hurt, or much _worse_ , I didn't know what I would do with myself.

The resounding clicking and clacking stopped, signaling the reaching our destination. The gigantic wooden door loomed over me, further taunting me and the anxiety I was feeling. With all the short amount of noise on the floor, I could hear muffled voices coming from inside the room.

Well, behind that door would be the answer to everything. I could feel the flow of emotion coming back to me, my heart racing and my palms sweating. Mom did a session of breathing in and out before reaching her trembling hand out to grab the door handle and turning it. In that instant, reality seemed to shift to slow motion. The door fluttered open, unveiling what was behind the entryway; I couldn't have been more unprepared for what I saw. Before I could blink, a doll flicked right past Mom and I and zipped across the room.

" _M-san_. _Fudōdesu_ , _hontōni shinkokudesu ka_?" a voice screeched. Following the shaking voice, I turned my head and saw the person at question cowering from the floating doll. He had chin-length orange hair; kept slicked back with the assistance of hair gel, as evident by how shiny and pristine it looked. He was a tall, lean man with shoulder-length orange hair.

I narrowed my eyes. He didn't seem familiar, he must've been one of Dad's friends visiting—wait… the doll; it was floating just like before!

Scanning the doll, I made out the floating doll, its irregular looking mop of blonde hair hovering. The dolls black dress was tattered and ruined, the revealing plastic limbs being dirty and stained with unknown yellow patches. The right eye of the doll was open, the other closed shut.

If that doll was floating like that, that could mean—

" _Mochiron_ , _sore wa shinkendesu_ , _mei_!" a familiar voice roared, " _Aiko ga kore ni tsuite shitte irunara_ , _kanojo wa motto motto shinpai suru tsumorida_!"

That voice. It had to be!

My head moved instinctively, jumping from the cowering stranger to the familiar voice. My eyes expanded, my breath cut short. That floating doll was the least important thing on my mind, I had to know if it was his voice; I had to see him!

It was… it was him!

There Dad was, lying on his recovery bed. His injuries were treated and thoroughly bandaged, to his arms and forehead, and he had an IV needle inserted into his left arm.

"Paaaaa!" the words seemed to jump out without hesitation. I reached my body and arms out desperately, but to no avail. The restraining buckles held me back, no matter how hard I pushed. Dad directed his attention at Mom and me, his eyes extending and his body frozen still. His irises reverted back to blue. A solid thud filled the room, the levitating glowing doll falling lifelessly to the floor. The atmosphere of the room took a big turn in another direction.

The irate expression on Dad's face was replaced with his trademark smile, upon seeing us.

"Aiko, Mirai!" he exclaimed. His first instinct was to attempt to push his body up but ended up halting halfway into the air, releasing an audible growl.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Dad grimaced, sinking back down into his hospital bed, " _Sorera no chintsū-zai wa mada kanari kera rete inai yōda_."

It felt like a massive weight had been lifted from my chest. Words couldn't describe how happy and relieved I was to see my father alright. I knew I wouldn't have been able to bear such a terrible pain like that, and I unquestionably knew how devastated and heartbroken Mom would've been; but, I couldn't help but frown a little. He was obviously still hurt from whatever happened to him.

" _Fuhō_ , _daijōbudesuka_?"

The orange haired man promptly rushed to Dad's side. He locked his arms underneath his armpit, smoothly pulling his body back to its former comfortable position.

Dad glared at the man, " _Arigatō_ , _mei_."

Akira? That's the name I recall Mom saying over the phone earlier. This guy must have been who told her about Dad being hospitalized.

Glancing over the room, I noticed the hue of the walls were cream; neither peeling nor grungy, most likely the same color throughout the rest of the hospital rooms. Wedged in the corner of the ceiling was a TV set, accompanied by a black cable box. In the corner were two chairs and a table. Multiple cards and vases of flowers occupied the table. With the absurd amount of gifts, he had to have been held in high regard by a helluva lot of people. At the far end of the room were windows, giving off a view of the stunning sunset.

It was a typical hospital room, spatial and functional.

"Banri…" Mom placed my car seat on the ground, taking off running in Dad's direction. She jumped at him, embracing him tightly.

Dad ogled wildly at Mom for a brief moment, before returning the embrace, pulling her in closer. His face softened at the sound of Mom's sorrowful cries.

" _Watashi wa sōdesu_ , _gomen'nasai_ , _watashi wa anata ni sore o shinpai sa semashita_ ," he said softly.

" _Yakusoku shimasu_ …" He halted mid-sentence, before deciding to close his mouth; as if he was holding something in.

" _Watashi wa_... _moshi watashi ga nani o shita no ka wakaranai_ ga—"

Dad delivered a kiss to Mom's forehead, silencing her words, " _Shā_ , _subete umai._ _Watashi_ wa _daijōbu_ , _hanī_."

Mom choked up further, her sobs filling the entire room.

" _Moichido watashi o kowagaranaide kudasai_!" Mom sniveled weakly.

Dad continued comforting Mom, lovingly caressing his fingers through Mom's hair. His face said it all. Just by looking at him, I could tell it was eating at him to see Mom in this kind of delirious state. He scowled, releasing the embrace.

" _Anata wa_ _shitte iru_ , _tabun anata_ _wa tadashi_ , Aiko. _Watashi wa_ _sore o_ _kantan ni_ _torubekidatta_ ," Dad stated, taking a pause before continuing, " _Aichi_ _ken no_ _hanzai_ - _ritsu wa_ _kako su_ - _kagetsu_ - _kan de_ _gensho_ _shite imasu_. _Watashi_ _no_ _junkai jikan_ _o_ _tanshuku suru_ _no ni_ _saitekina jikidesu_."

Mom brushed away an escaping tear.

" _Sore o jitsugen suru tame ni wa, kore ga nagaku kakatta_?" Mom joked sarcastically.

Dad chuckled, scratching the back of his head, " _Kesshite osokunai yori_ _mo, watashi wa tadashi_?"

The cheeky bastard. That look on his face never seemed to fade, even in this crappy situation, huh?

"Banri, _anata wa shinde_ _ita kamo shirenai_! _Nani ga anta ni okotta ka_?"

" _Ma_... _watashi wa ofisu_ _o deru koto ga dekite_ ," Dad answered, " _Akiraka ni_ , _watashi wa saikin jibun jishin_ _o kado ni kocho shite kita_. _Oku o setsumei suru, ē_?"

" _Shikashi_ , _sore wa anata no karada_ _de nani ga okotte iru no ka kotaemasen ka_? _Anata wa itami shite imasen ka_?"

" _Gā, korera no kega wa, izen no ginkō gotō no kokoromi yori mo hayaku,"_ Dad pointed at his bandaged arms, _"Odoroita koto ni watashi o tsukamae, watashi no ude no ue ni ikutsu ka no kizu o tsukemashita. Kōun'na koto ni, anata no odorokubeki otto no Pro Hero ga 5-byokan de kare o otosu koto ga dekimashita_!"

" _Watashitachi wa jissai ni_ _wa bakkuappu no tame ni denwa o suru hitsuyo wa arimasendeshita_?" Akira interjected.

Dad's eyes flared up, like how they were when we walked into the room.

"Akira, _sore wa anata kara jubundesu_!" Dad spoke firmly.

" _S-gomen'nasai_!" Akira faltered, slumping his head down in defeat.

I'd never seen Dad act like much of an authority figure before. Even with all my whining and trying moments in this _short_ lifetime, I was never really disobedient. In all honesty, Dad never really seemed like the type to scold anyone anyway, so I couldn't help but burst out giggling at the scene in front of me. I knew I should have taken him seriously, but seeing him come out of his usual character and shouting like that was too comical.

" _Mā_... _Watashi ga iu_ _koto ga dekiru no wa_ , _motto chūi shite mite kudasai_ _. Watashi wa kono shigoto_ _ga ko no yōna jōkyō ni naru_ _koto o rikai shite imasu_ ," Mom looked over at me, Dad following suit, " _Watashitachi no musuko ni chichioya nashi de sodateru koto wa dekimasen. Anata ga inakute mo, dare ga kare no hīrō ni narudeshou ka_?"

Dad was silent for a short period. Whatever she said to him, he seemed to be digesting whatever Mom had told him. It had him so deep in thought that he wouldn't stop staring over at me. He balled his hands up into fists, a determined expression forming on his face, " _Watashi wa anata_ _o hosho sur_ _koto ga dekimasu, akunin wa imamade watashi_ _no kichonakazoku_ _kara watashi o tsuresaru koto wa dekimasen watashi o tsuresaru koto wa dekimasen_."

Mom beamed happily, looking lovingly into his eyes, " _Watashi wa sore o anata no dakishimete_ _imasu_."

Suddenly, the handle of the door twisted and the door opened. Mom, Dad, Akira and I looked over at the approaching man. He was an extremely large man with a very tall and overly-muscular figure. He wore a burgundy suit, along with a scarlet red tie. He had short blonde hair with two distinct bangs that stood up over his head. In his right hand was a 'Get-Well' fruit basket of some sorts. I couldn't even lie to myself, the blond man was the definition of jacked. The build of this guy could potentially rival most, if not many, bodybuilders. He had muscles upon muscles, almost to the point where it looked like his body might tear the suit apart.

Oddly enough, I was certain I hadn't seen this man a day in my life. I'd barely seen anyone in the last couple of months besides Mom, Dad, my aunt and now, Akira.

So why did he look so familiar?

I felt a certain air exuding from the built man, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. A warm smile was plastered on his face, wide, showing off his pearly white teeth. Observing everyone's reactions, they all seemed to welcome him with smiles of their own.

"Hahaha!" the man's voice echoed affectionately, opening his arms outward as he approached Mom, " _Watashi wa koko ni imasu_!"

His voice, something about it seemed all too familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the more I stared at him and the way he acted, I felt it all coming back to me. He approached Mom, greeting her with a friendly hug before making his way over to Dad.

" _Dō_ _yatte_ , Banri?" the brawny man asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, " _Watashi wa nani ga_ _okotta no_ _ka kiite_ , _chodo anata o chekku suru yo ni natta_."

" _Watashi wa yoi_ _hi o mitekimashita_ , _sore wa tashikadesu_. _Watashi_ _wa_ _hōmon_ _o arigato_ , All Might."

My ears immediately sharpened, flaring up in disbelief. Did I just hear that correctly? Did Dad say All Might? Like as in—

The man broke into an animated laugh, unknowingly interrupting my thought process.

" _Kiite ureshi_ , Puppetmaster," the man smiled graciously, before revealing the fruit basket in his possession, " _Kokode wa_ , _idaina hīrō wa_ , _yūkande sūkōna kōdō_ _no tame ni_ , _shibarakunoaida_ , _chiryō o ukenakereba naranai_."

Dad reached out and accepted the gift, " _T_ \- _arigatō_ , _subete no kanōsei ga arimasu_ All Might. _Watashi no tsuma_ _wa kon'ya watashi_ _no tame ni sore o ie_ _ni_ mochikaerimasu. _Watashi wa osokutomo ashita made ni tain surudeshou_."

There it went again!

There was no reason why Dad should be calling this man 'All Might'! All Might was just a fictional anime character. This was a live, actual regular blond, extremely buff man; nothing close to the Number #1 Hero that Dad was referring to.

It's not like this is some world of superpowers and—

" _Ā_. _Watashi no manā wa dokodesu ka_?"

My head shook, my eyes flashing wildly; the voice was getting closer and louder. The blond stranger walked over to me, growing in stature the closer he got; until he was towering over me like a _Titan_. The man's humongous figure was already crazy enough, but seeing him up close was a completely different story. All noise and distractions seemed to fade away, leaving only two people at that moment: me and the man.

His face inched closer to mine, to the point where his face blocked off my entire peripheral. Hoping to send the stranger a strong message to back the hell up, my face contorted as a response to the sudden invasion of my privacy.

" _Yōyaku_ _anataniaeteyokatta_ , _wakai Tōdō_!"

Then it hit me.

It was like a cog turned in my brain, pieces of a mental puzzle coming together in that moment. That iconic giant, bright smile finally had me convinced. Before my very eyes, no matter how unbelievable it all was, was none other than the Symbol of Peace:

All Might.

The world I had been reborn into, it'd be an understatement to say that I was simply familiar with it. About four years ago, I had discovered it when it was first picking up steam; being regarded as the savior and next leading flagship title of _Weekly Shonen Jump_.

After giving it a try, I fell in absolute love with the series. From the generic, yet beautifully executed plot, to the characters and their budding relationships, to the intense battles and the lighthearted comedy; it kept me coming back each and every week, captivating my attention each chapter. The world I had been reincarnated into was a world where humans had once again evolved and developed special abilities: Quirks. And with these special abilities, they became professional Heroes and fought and protected all of humanity against villains, in the name of justice.

There was no doubt in my mind: I was in the world of Boku no Hero Academia.

* * *

...

* * *

Dad was released from the hospital the next day. You'd think I'd be ecstatic for him to be home safe and well, but I just… couldn't.

Correction, I couldn't because I _couldn't_ feel much of anything.

The reality which I had become accustomed to had been shattered, breaking my frame of mind. I stared mindlessly from my high chair; the smell of Mom's cooking not even seeming to break the trance I was in.

I had been reborn into an anime, a manga.

I couldn't count the number of times I had questioned my sanity, but it was surely over a hundred. Rethinking everything up to this point, it was all so surreal. Everything leading up to this point had made so much sense now.

The demonstrations of their superpowers: Dad controlling and making dolls levitate, Mom, creating red threads from her fingertips.

They had Quirks. Those were _their_ Quirks.

Even the advanced technology.

God, the more I thought about it, the more it felt like I belonged in an asylum.

I wasn't exactly upset about being reborn here or anything. Who wouldn't want to be reincarnated into a world where the impossible became possible and superpowers existed? It was just that it all felt like one big hangover fantasy dream. A dream I wasn't going to wake up from any time soon.

For me to be in this created, made-up world, it twisted everything I thought I knew upside down.

Who were my parents?

I had never seen them appear or even be mentioned in the manga or the anime. Were they even… real? As cruel as this sounded, as much as I didn't want to say this, they couldn't have been real. They were just… creations, imagined and configured by the hands of an artistic Japanese man...

Just what was I saying? I felt like slapping myself with how close-minded and insensitive I sounded. If they weren't real, nothing but figments of someone's imagination, why did their love and their actions all feel so genuine? To just claim the people that had showered me with unconditional love and affection for all these months, as I was their own, as just fictional creations within some scripted universe; it would be discrediting and slandering them.

They were more than that; they were their own people. I had to acknowledge that.

Yet… I knew so little of them. There was something that had still shaken me up: All Might's appearance at the hospital. If you really think about it, what would an important celebrity like the Number #1 Hero be doing visiting some random civilian like Dad? You could argue he was visiting the hospital, checking in on the hospital patients; but he's the damn Symbol of Peace, would he really be wasting precious time visiting a hospital where doctors are already tending to their wounds and troubles instead of saving people in their time of need?

He even went through the trouble of delivering a fruit basket to Dad and conversed with him for a good while before leaving. The cordial interactions exchanged between the two; there was, without a shout of a doubt, an established relationship between the two. But how?

Gah, I hated being out of the loop! I found myself longing for the simpler days of my infancy, before floating dolls and magical silk threads invaded my life.

And somehow I felt like it all came back to Dad.

I never and wasn't going to resent him for his frequent disappearances, he was a busy man, I had to come to terms with it; but what I still didn't quite get: the wounds and bandages he had sustained. The very thought of him actually turning out to be _that_ , it still baffled me.

When he had first shown off his powers, I didn't quite make the instant assumption that he was a superhero; but again, with superpowers, superheroes normally followed and that was my train of thought.

On top of that, in this world having a Quirk didn't necessarily always equal to being a Pro Hero; but the little things that had trailed behind this single pivotal moment, everything started to come together, illuminating the blindness I was buried in.

Constantly coming home banged and bruised up like he had been in a wild confrontation.

Inside his office: the collection of dolls and that mask in the metallic machine; coupling with his Quirk might I add and now, the hospital visit from All Might.

My belief that I had once rejected, that had once seemed improbable; I was ready to buy into it now more than ever.

You didn't just have that kind of connection with someone like All Might, without being a) a policeman, namely like his best friend in the police force, Tsukauchi or b): being one of _those_ and he _was_ one of those:

Dad was—and hear me out here—a superhero.

The idea itself was ludicrous, and I couldn't believe what I was saying, but it was logical the more I ran the idea around in my head. If my memory served me correctly, professional heroes' heroic activities allowed them to be rewarded with salaries directly sent by the government. Dad's status must have been pretty popular for him to be able to afford the luxurious manor.

And to think I thought he was some ordinary, high-class businessman.

That's when the initial shock came and went, it all cementing into my head.

My dad was an _actual_ superhero!

Just the title, alone, was enough, but it made it even more awesome to know that Dad was out there; patrolling the tainted streets, saving those in trouble and dishing out cold justice. I couldn't envision him doing heroic deeds, considering how much of a goofball he was; but it was for that exact reason why I felt he was undeniably someone that would probably be a smash hit and true inspiration for little kids everywhere.

The way he behaved and carried himself; it was truly compelling.

I snickered to myself. Your friendly neighborhood reincarnated baby, Mirai Fudo, son of a _Pro Hero_ ; if I was being truthful, it had a nice ring to it. Sheesh, being the son of a superhero; who did I think I was? The main character of my own personal tale?

Sarcastic quips aside, I couldn't help but feel a little unsure about all of this, even after discovering the world I was in. I wasn't supposed to be _here_ , but here I was.

What would my existence do to this world? The world around me could have proved to be much different than what I knew. I wasn't a known factor in this world, but with my presence, things would just _maybe_ prove to be different; if I was even in the flow of time that would lead to the present time of the series.

All Might was a clear indicator that I was in the Symbol of Peace Era, but that wasn't enough information for me to figure out what exact year I was in. Horikoshi Kohei, the creator of the illustrious universe, had never mentioned a specific year in which everything took place; all I knew was that I couldn't have been too far off from the 2080s, especially when you took into account the wide-scale combat robots and futuristic technology.

I began to recall events that would have potentially taken place already: the invasion on the USJ by the newly-formed Villain Alliance, the arrival of the idealistic Hero Killer Stain and devastating appearance of All For One at Kamino Ward. There were bigger, greater things exceeding past that point, but just the mere thought of these four things already frightened me beyond belief.

The effect these events had on the society, it was literally world-changing. I was probably getting too ahead of myself. All Might was still an active and seemingly healthy hero, and I didn't catch any sign of blood spewing from his mouth. His fated battle with All For One hadn't taken place, thank God.

I would potentially have to face those things though. At that moment I felt like something had spurred on me. I was an extreme believer that everything happened in your life for a reason, good or bad, it didn't matter if right or wrong. I couldn't begin to comprehend why someone like me was put here, but it was for a reason. I didn't want to sound cliché or anything, but I felt like I had been chosen, destined for something huge.

Even if, by chance, I was reborn here just for shits and giggles, I would grab hold of the second chance at life with my own two hands and take full advantage of it.

I would do it; I'd put my life on the line to save people in need, to leave a long-lasting imprint and legacy, to defend this world against the impending evil that was villains.

I'd make my mark and become a hero, the best one I could be.

* * *

 **A/N : And with that, Mirai is finally aware of being in _Boku no Hero Academia_! This chapter was originally over 9K but I decided it would be best to break the chapter up into two parts. **

**Also, by this point, you can consider this an AU of sorts; with the inclusion of Puppetmaster, a hero not present in the actual world.**

 **Not to mention, the "growing" cast of OC-characters. For the most part, the majority of the OCs that appears** **won't have a significant role (as far as I know, the only OCs will be a part of Mirai's family or family circle). Aiko and Banri will probably be the only significant ones really, Kiyo and Akira being recurring roles in the story.** **My original idea was to do a twin-fic, where Mirai would be the sibling of one of the main characters; but I decided to go another path. This might have been weird decision to some, but I thought it would be a breath of fresh air per se.**

 **That's all for this note. Enjoy your day/night wherever you are! :)**

 **Translations:**

 **Watashinonamaeha fudō no itoshigodesu** **. Watashi wa fu do** **Banri o hōmon suru** **tame ni koko** **ni iru** **! Kare wa koko** **ni nyūin shita** **: My name is Fudo Aiko; I'm here to visit Fudo Banri! He was admitted here a—!**

 **Ochitsuite kudasai: Please remain calm miss.**

 **Fudo-san wa heya #4 ni imasu: Mr. Fudo is in Room #4.**

 **Osoreirimasuga, yoroshikuonegaiitashimasu** **: Excuse me please** **!**

 **Banri... Anata dake ga kiku dakenaraba: Banri… if only you would just listen!**

 **Shā, daijōbudesu. Subete ga daijōbu ni** **narudarou** **, Mirai: Shh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay, Mirai..**

 **Hōrudo... Watashitachi** **wa** **hobo** **soko** **ni iru: Hold on… we're almost there**

 **M-san. Fudōdesu, hontōni** **shinkokudesu** **ka?: M-Mr. Fudo, sir, i-is it really that serious?**

 **Mochiron, sore** **wa** **shinkendesu** **, mei: Of course it's that serious, Akira.**

 **Aiko ga kore ni suita shitte irunara, kanojo wa motto motto shinpai suru tsumorida: If Aiko finds out about this, she's only going to worry even more.**

 **Ā, ā, ā: Ouch, ouch, ouch.**

 **Fuhō, daijōbudesuka?: Are you okay, Mr. Fudo?**

 **Arigatō, mei: Thanks, Akira.**

 **Watashi wa sōdesu, gomen'nasai, watashi wa anata ni sore o shinpai sa semashita: I'm so, so sorry I made you worry like that.**

 **Yakusoku** **shimasu** **: I promise.**

 **Watashi** **wa** **... Moshi** **watashi** **ga** **nani** **o** **shita** **no ka** **wakaranai** **: I… I don't know what I would've done if—**

 **Shā,** **subete** **umai** **. Watashi** **wa** **daijōbu, hanī: Shh, everything's fine. I'm okay, honey.**

 **Mōichido** **watashi** **o** **kowagaranaide** **kudasai** **: Don't ever scare me like that again, please.**

 **Anata wa shitte iru, tabun anata wa tadashī, Aiko. Watashi wa sore o kantan ni torubekidatta: You know, maybe you were right, Aiko. I should've started taking it easy.**

 **Aichi ken no hanzai-ritsu wa kako sū-kagetsu-kan de genshō shite imasu. Watashi no junkai jikan o tanshuku suru no ni saitekina jikidesu: Crime rates in Aichi have been lessening over the last couple months; it'd be a perfect time to lower my patrolling hours.**

 **Sore o** **jitsugen** **suru** **tame ni** **wa, kore ga nagaku kakatt** a **: It took you this long to realize that?**

 **Kesshite** **osokunai** **yori** **mo,** **watashi wa** **tadashī: Better late than never, am I right?**

 **Banri, anata wa shinde ita kamo shirenai! Nani ga anata ni okotta ka: Banri, you could've died! What even happened to you?**

 **Mā... Watashi** **wa ofisu o deru koto ga dekite** **: Well… I passed out before I was able to leave the office.**

 **Akiraka ni,** **watashi wa saikin jibun jishin o kado ni kochō shite kita. Ōku o setsumei suru** **, ē?: Apparently, I've been overexerting myself lately; explains a lot, eh?**

 **Shikashi, sore** **wa anata no karada de nani ga okotte iru no ka kotaemasen ka? Anata wa itami shite imasen ka?: But that doesn't answer what's going on with your body? Aren't you in pain?**

 **Gā, korera no kega wa, izen no ginkō gōtō no kokoromi yori mo hayaku: Gah, these injuries were just from a petty villain earlier from an earlier bank heist attempt.**

 **Odoroita koto ni watashi o tsukamae, watashi no ude no ue ni ikutsu ka no kizu o tsukemashita. Kōun'na koto ni, anata no odorokubeki otto no Pro Hero ga 5-byōkan de kare o otosu koto ga dekimashita** **!: Caught me by surprise, landed several cut wounds on my arms. Luckily, your amazing Pro Hero of a husband was able to take him down in five seconds flat!**

 **Watashitachi** **wa jissai ni wa bakkuappu no tame ni denwa o suru hitsuyō wa arimasendeshita?: Sir, with all due respect, didn't we actually need to call in for backup?**

 **Akira, sore wa anata kara jūbundesu: Akira, that's enough out of you!**

 **S - gomen'nasai: S-Sorry, sir!**

 **Mā... Watashi ga iu koto ga dekiru no wa, motto chūi shite mite kudasai. Watashi wa kono shigoto ga ko no yōna jōkyō ni naru koto o rikai shite imasu** **: Well… all I can say is please try to be more careful. I understand this job comes with situations like this.**

 **Watashitachi no** **musuko ni chichioya nashi de sodateru koto wa dekimasen. Anata ga inakute mo, dare ga kare no hīrō ni narudeshou ka: We can't have our son grow up without his father. Besides, who'll be his hero if you're gone?**

 **Watashi wa anata o hosho suru koto ga dekimasu, akunin wa imamade watashi no kichona kazoku kara watashi o tsuresaru:** **I can assure you, no villain will ever be able to take me away from my precious family.**

 **Watashi wa sore o anata no dakishimete imasu: I'm holding you to that… dear.**

 **Watashi wa koko ni imasu: I am here!**

 **Dō yatte, Banri: How are you doing, Banri?**

 **Watashi wa nani ga okotta no ka kiite, chōdo anata o chekku suru yō ni natta: I heard about what happened and just came to check up on you.**

 **Watashi wa yoi hi omitekimashita, sore wa tashikadesu. Watashi wa homon o arigato, All Might: I've seen better days, that's for sure. I appreciate the visit though, All Might.**

 **Ā. Watashi no manā wa dokodesu** **ka: Oh. Where are my manners?**

 **Kiite ureshī, Puppetmaster: Glad to hear, Puppetmaster.**

 **Kokode wa, idaina hīrō wa, yūkande sūkōna kōdō no tame ni, shibarakunoaida, chiryō o ukenakereba naranai: Here, a great hero deserves a treat once in a while for his brave and noble actions.**

 **T - arigatō, subete no kanōsei ga arimasu All Might. Watashi no tsuma wa kon'ya watashi no tame ni sore o ie ni mochikaerimasu. Watashi wa osokutomo ashita made ni taiin surudeshou: T-Thank you, All Might. My wife will take it home for me tonight. I'll be discharged by tomorrow at the latest.**

 **Yōyaku** **anataniaeteyokatta** **,** **wakai** **Tōdō: Nice to finally meet you, Young Fudo!**


	6. New Life Arc: Chapter 5

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

 **Another chapter down! Before this one starts, I just want to thank everyone that has read and showed support with reviewing, following and favoriting this story! Even those that haven't reviewed! It drives me more than you will know and I hope that I can continuously give you the quality product that you all deserve.**

 **Also I'm not sure why I haven't done this before now, but shoutout to _CorgisAreMySoul_ again. She's somewhat my beta reader I guess? All I know is she has sacrificed her time in efforts to better my story. I just want to thank her for all she's done!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 05: Here I Stand

* * *

Weeks had passed since the brief stressful juncture and a period of peace had made its awaited return. The muggy heat and long nights had cycled over to the next season up. The duration of daylight had become noticeably shorter and the temperature cooled down considerably; and the mint-green leaves became caramel, dancing to the ground before passing on gracefully.

The season of Autumn was upon me.

I stood up, propelling my body upward with the assistance of the sofa.

Yup, that's it Mirai; one leg at a time.

A beat later and I was up, standing proudly on my own two feet. I tumbled back down on my rear, my diaper and the soft flooring cushioning my fall.

I frowned. My limbs weren't even _close_ to being strong enough. Sometimes I had to urge to curse whoever put me in this predicament.

The decision to be a hero, it had led me to this moment. Ever since then, I was trying to be more active than usual. It helped with all the moving I did, but my porous bones still managed to frustrate and hold me back.

But I didn't plan on stopping there.

There wasn't much of anything an eleven-month-old baby could do when it came to exercising really, but I decided to look at it from a different angle.

The earlier I put in the work, the greater the advantage I would have in the future.

A hero must be physically and mentally fit in order to save people. They needed to move and act swiftly, causing as minimal damage as possible in an intense, hectic situation. I was only eleven months old but it was all a race. I had to be prepared for the future ahead of me and this lesser training regime would get me to where I wanted to be.

…

…

…

Wow.

I had to sit there and think about it all for a second. It was insane to think that in less than three years I would have a Quirk; one to use and call my own. It was far off, but at the same time, it was so close.

When I was first brainstorming a combination of the two, I got, well; carried away. It was easy to imagine yourself having some badass, overpowered Quirk, but here that's not how it worked, unfortunately. Genetics played a huge role in what Quirk I would inherit, and from the looks of it; I wasn't going to be getting that flashy power that I saw myself having.

Manipulating and levitating dolls telekinetically.

Creating and wielding silk threads.

I'd dubbed Mom and Dad's Quirks: _Doll-kinesis_ and _Silk Thread_ , respectively. If compatible, I'd receive a new composite Quirk formed by the fusion of the two. There _was_ a chance of a possible mutation, for me to manifest a completely unrelated Quirk to my genetic lineage; that was a rare case though.

I had a bountiful amount of creative ideas as to which I would get, but in the end, I narrowed down the unrealistic and unlikely options; leaving me with only _two_.

The first: the ability to use that thread-like material that my mother could make but control and use it in a sentient manner.

The second: or I could detach parts of his body in a thread-ball and use them as substitutes for the dolls that my father used. It would still work mostly like Dad's Quirk, but with a slight pinch of Mom's thrown in there.

In the thought of my own Quirk, there was still the possibility that I could end up Quirkless.

Honestly, I didn't know what I'd do with myself if I ended up without a Quirk.

Imagine dealing with normality for seventeen years of your short life but then being reborn into a world where you can have powers and you end up _not_ developing one. Pretty devastating, isn't it? It would be like a literal living nightmare and all because you were simply born with an additional joint in your toe.

It'd be just my luck for something _like that_ to happen to me. It'd probably be an amusing circus display for whatever mystical deity that sent me here; forcing me to live out the rest of my life even more discriminated against than in my previous life.

In this current supernatural day and age, you dreamed of having your own Quirk, one that stood out from everyone else's and viewed as spectacular; and if you didn't develop one, you were a subject of mockery and prejudice. I could only hope a tragedy like that didn't befall upon me.

* * *

...

* * *

A baby's first words: a noteworthy milestone in a baby's development.

At my current age, I could say small words and fully form and construct complete, short sentences in Japanese.

Though I was getting closer to mastering the foreign language, I didn't have it down pat. I couldn't pronounce every word right, mostly due to my plain brain farts or just my developing speech. I understood that I still had a long ways to go before I was able to become proficient, but I was really proud of myself.

In just eleven months, the pure gibberish that once battered my foreign ears had seemed like nothing more than a problem of the past, picking apart the words that were spoken and being able to translate it rapidly in my head.

You could imagine the looks on Mom and Dad's faces when I said my first words, or should I say: a first sentence.

" _Chīzubāgā_ _o onegaishimasu_ ," in other words: feed me a cheeseburger, please.

Their reactions were sidesplitting, their mouths hanging in bewilderment. It was a natural reaction, I mean, a baby spouting out an entire sentence?

When you thought of first words, Mama or Dada typically followed but when your desire for a juicy, appetizing cheeseburger was as ravenous as mine was that day, I had no doubt that you wouldn't do the same.

* * *

...

* * *

It was December 6th.

Another day of waddling around and being a baby is what I anticipated. I had woken up relatively early that day, to attempt some pull-ups on the crib bars; only for Mom and Dad to burst into my room, dirtying my room with confetti and bombarding me with kisses.

It didn't take me long to figure out that today was my _new_ birthday, notably from the bright decorations and streamers. Staring at the banner hang neatly before entering the kitchen, it read: Happy Birthday Mirai. I smiled instantaneously, admiring the endearing gesture. The amount of effort and hard work they must have put into all of this, all to please and make me feel special; I valued it more than they could know.

It didn't take long for the birthday party to get underway, the first doorbell coming just five minutes later.

Aunt Kiyo arrived in her usual loud, chaotic fashion, hauling in several bags; livingly wishing me a happy birthday. Shortly after, Akira arrived; bringing with him a nicely wrapped box. My eyes glistened, the sight of the presents enticing me. Even at the mental age of seventeen, I got all gaga over receiving presents.

"Thank you!" I thanked, showing my gratitude for the gifts.

"Oh my god, he can talk so clear like that already, sis?!" Aunt Kiyo raved, her mouth gaping wide, "My little nephew is sooooo smart~!"

"Yes, he's grown so much in just a year!" Mom responded merrily, "You should see the way he's always crawling around, can't take your eyes off him for a second!"

"Way faster than any of the Ingeniums, that's for sure!" Dad jokingly added, managing to crack himself up way more than the rest. I chortled along, catching the joke with ease. With Dad being a Hero and all, I was pretty certain that he was more than on a familiar basis with the well-known and respected Iida Family.

Soon enough, more and more people showed up; most of them complete strangers in my eyes. I was unsure of whether or not most of them were family of mines, the burgeoning chunk of people flooding into the house at an abnormal rate. It got to the point where I just gave up on getting to know everyone, resorting to plainly greeting the guests.

One thing I didn't take into account though: the children.

Don't get me wrong, I had no animosity for children; I just really, _really_ had to be in the right attitude to be around them. The persistent crying, the eternal begging and on top of that; having to care and watch over them like a hawk. I knew from an early age that I wanted to have children, plenty at that, but they were a damn handful. Myself included—

Whoa, was that who I thought it was?!

My eyes nearly bulged out of my eyes, seeing a certain tall man with dark eyes and blonde hair combed into a side-part. The majority of his body was clad in denim, the waist of his jeans being cut and shaped into a cylinder; covering his mouth and a jean jacket with sleeves. Completing his outfit was with a pair of jeans and brown boots.

Tsunagu Hakamata, better known as Best Jeanist: the current Number #4 Pro Hero. Seeing the greatest hero in the world and now the No.4 best Hero, it was dreamlike; though, if I was still going by the nonexistent critical wound that All Might hadn't received yet, then maybe Best Jeanist wasn't one of the top heroes as of yet. The timeline was still a little fuzzy to me...

What was I talking about? That was a thought for another time, there was a Pro Hero attending my birthday party! Well, you know, besides Dad; but he didn't really count.

He strutted over to me, fixing his hair with his stylish comb until it was straight and silky. He ceased movement once he stood in front of me, flashing me a smile; which I couldn't really see with the jeans covering his mouth, "Happy Birthday Mirai!"

This awestruck, admired feeling, it must've been what Midoriya experienced every time he laid his eyes on a hero.

But it didn't stop there.

Pro Hero: Ectoplasm arrived in late fashion, his clones carrying presents. And his limbs, they were there instead of the artificial limbs I had known him to have. He still wore his tan trench coat that covered most of his body, a skin-tight, black suit with several gold stripes underneath it; rising up from underneath his trench coat and disappearing under his helmet.

His helmet was black and with a gold jaw guard that ends in a circle-shaped hinge joint where his ears are. Another frame came from the hinge, going over his cheekbones and meeting at his nose.

"Happy Birthday, Mirai."

But it didn't stop there.

" _Chu_ ~!" an angularly shaped kiss was placed on my forehead, it retracting swiftly.

The Youthful Heroine: R-Recovery Girl!

The short, elderly woman beamed cheekily. Her facial blemishes and wrinkles were still there, but they weren't as visible as in the current time of the series. She still wore her same doctor's lab coat and a dress with yellow and red vest-like designs, two yellow buttons and a pink belt. She also wore pink boots and a helmet on her head. You couldn't forget her trademark syringe, doubled as a cane and a healing item.

"Happy Birthday Fudo- _san_!"

And finally…

"I am hereeeee, two hours late and from your Dad's iGalaxy phone!"

Dad waved the phone a few inches away from my face. Staring into the camera, I saw All Might; once again, in his buff form. Smiling widely, I waved vigorously, "All Might!"

All Might jumped in shock, "Whoa, Young Fudo! Seems like you can speak so clearly now, growing up so fast aren't we?"

He continued, "My apologies for not being able to attend, duty calls. But always remember this: Happy Birthday, Young Fudo and have a Happy 'Plus Ultra' Birthday!"

"P-Plus Ultra!" I repeated zealously, pumping my tiny fist into the air.

Ah, life was great; getting a personal happy birthday from All Might wasn't something most, if not any, kids could say they've gotten. I was truly blessed.

Thirty minutes passed before the Pro Heroes had to make their leave, most likely danger on the rise.

And so, the party continued on and Mom and Dad announced the opening of presents.

The stark amount of gifts that were on that table, it was an incredible sight to behold. I was already licking my lips in anticipation; though I couldn't help but feel like it was a bit superfluous. Even though I was the child of a Pro Hero, that didn't mean I was deserving of being oversupplied with gifts.

Not that I was complaining.

Mom started opening up the gifts and one by one, my excitement to see what I got dwindled. Baby clothes, diapers, action figures and toys.

And my excitement hit rock-bottom.

Be grateful, my guy; not every kid is grateful enough to get presents…

Gah, what the hell is this? I wanted to be angry and pout, but then again, this _was_ a kid's birthday party. I couldn't expect a fresh gaming console to pop out of one of the boxes.

I repeated the words which my former mother used to tell me as a kid: get what you get and don't be upset.

Presents out of the way, we moved onto the icing on the cake.

Literally.

"Cake time everyone!" Mom declared to everyone. Not even a second passed since the words came out and the millions of children were already on their feet and surrounding the table. The adults followed suit.

I looked around, noticing Dad wasn't around. I scanned the crowd but he wasn't there either. Before I could call out his name to come to eat cake, I spotted a man wearing a black jacket with enlarged coattails, a pink and black bodysuit underneath; the majority of the abdomen section being black, the rest a mixture of pink and black. He also had metal knee guards, the outline of the guards being pink; along with strapped black gloves. He finished his costume off with a black domino mask and a pink utility belt, which possessed multiple holsters and compartments.

The suit lured me in so much that I almost didn't notice the pink hair. I felt my cheeks heat up, my eyes illuminating with wonder.

That was Dad's hero costume!

He gave a hearty laugh, putting his hands on his hips while puffing his chest out, "It is I, Mirai! Your father, The Figurine Hero: Puppetmaster!"

He ambled over to me, scooping me up in his arms and walking to the table. My nose speedily reacted to the sweet smell radiating from the birthday cake. The single burning candle brought more life to the cake, making the icing writing pop out: Happy 1st Birthday Mirai.

"Make a wish, my son," Dad egged on, ruffling his hands through my messy hair.

A wish?

There was only one thing that came to my mind.

I wished to become a great hero.

I inhaled, taking in as much air as my little lungs would allow before releasing it all at once, the held air pressure blowing away the candle.

I was officially one year old and it only took an entire 365 days to get to this point.

Everything that took place in just this one year alone, it was all so crazy. I wasn't sure what would happen, or if I'd even be ready, for what was going to happen over the next few years but I'd take what I learned and run with it, and live with the promise I made to myself.

* * *

 **A/N: A shorter chapter this time around, sorry if that disappoints anyone! Next chapter though, will be a hefty, important one! The next chapter's title will most definitely give it away, but I'm sure that you guys will probably still enjoy it! Anyways, after twelve months of baby bullshit, our little Mirai has finally turned one year old. He's got thirteen more years before the canon, let's see how things develop and unfold over that span of time. ;)**

 **iGalaxy, literally a spur on the moment phone name. At** **that moment, I wasn't sure what the hell a futuristic phone would be; so I combined two of the biggest phone manufacturing companies out right now and thus, iGalaxy was born!**

 **Lastly, honorifics; I don't plan on using them a whole bunch throughout the rest of this. It'll probably pop up here and there, but it will almost have zero presence.**

 **That's all for this note. Have a great day/night wherever you are and be blessed, yo!**

 **Translations:**

 **Chīzubāgā o onegaishimasu: Feed me a cheeseburger, please.**


	7. Path to Hero Arc: Chapter 6

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

 **A lengthy chapter this time around! Enjoy!**

 **ALSO, yes, there is a spoiler about the current arc of the manga in this chapter. Just a forewarning!**

* * *

Chapter 06: Tsuyu Asui

* * *

A great deal had ensued over the past three years.

Dad, now age 27, had risen from Rank #54 to #19 on the JP Hero Billboard; his inspiring heroic actions and personality skyrocketing him to his current spot. There wasn't a day that went by where I didn't see a commercial about his new toy line of action figures, or one of his public service announcements about being responsible with your Quirk and abiding by the law. Adding onto his commercial success, his Hero Agency had grown considerably, and the number of interns and sidekicks increased by 10% every year. Dad's good friend and intern-at-the-time, Akira, had graduated from some Hero School in the East he had been attending and gone on to be his sidekick, working under the alias of "Nailscrew".

Mom, now also age 27, had started working from home. Thanks to heightening technology, she was able to communicate with all of the designers under her and company staff via visual high-definition holograms. Around three years ago, in February, I had learned that Mom was actually a worldwide icon in the fashion designing industry, being a famous designer herself.

After Mom had given birth to me, she had been on child-care leave for an entire year to take care of me; she had assumed the role of a housewife when in reality, she was the head designer and actual Head of the design department of a fashion and support company known as " _PRONTO_ ". According to Mom, there were several branches spread throughout the globe and the company helped in collaboration with numerous Hero Schools and other support tech companies to create high-quality costumes and equipment. Fortunately for her, with the entire year she had off, she was able to produce countless amounts of completed sketches of hero costumes. Not to mention, they had a high-grossing clothing line, which currently brought in over a billion dollars a year.

Being the son of a rising Pro Hero and a famous fashion designer, life was great to say the least. Living a life as privileged as I was, it was so much of a blessing that I was unsure if I really deserved it; though with the way Mom and Dad spoiled me, if I hadn't grown up grounded the way I did, I was sure I would have turned out to be a whiny, spoiled brat.

And speaking of Mom...

* * *

...

* * *

"Wake up sweetheart," Mom said to me one morning, giving my covers a modest pull. Not one hundred percent sure of what was going on, only knowing someone was pulling at my covers, I stuck my head out from the covers; only for the outside luminescent rays to assault my eyes without warning. I retracted my head back underneath the shell that was my cover.

The deliriousness I was feeling began evaporating before I knew it, and my consciousness began clearing up. Putting two and two together, I ultimately received the oh-so-elusive four: it was morning time. If there was one thing I wanted nothing more in this life, it was for the Sun to stop being so goddamn gleeful in the morning and tone it down a couple notches. That or wait until approximately 12PM to grace me with its _pleasant_ shine.

Despite my obvious discontent, Mom egged on. "Mirai, I'm serious, let's go. We have an important appointment in an hour, so get up," She voiced, ripping the covers off of me.

Instinctively, I went to nab my plush shield but my movement was delayed by my sluggishness, giving Mom more than enough time to pry it from my grasp.

She jokingly mimicked the frustrated frown I had on my face, "Stop that pouty face mister and get ready for Mommy. I'll be downstairs with your father finishing up a nice breakfast before we leave."

With that, she left my room, leaving me and my tired body to wallow in self-pity. I fumbled around in my bed, violently flailing my arms and legs into the air before returning back down to Earth. I heaved, my heartbeat returning to a controlled state. I batted my eyes at the ceiling and calmed myself down. I laid there for a moment, well… _maybe_ a minute or two more, before I slowly, but surely, made my way out of bed.

Some caffeine sure would have been great right about now.

I sullenly dragged my feet across the carpet as I stifled a yawn with my right hand. It wasn't until I got to the bathroom that I finally processed her words. What appointment was she talking about? If it was a doctor's visit, I'm sure Mom or Dad would've said something about it sooner. Eh, it probably wasn't anything worth thinking long and hard over; getting ready now like Mom said was more important.

Making my way over to the bathtub, I turned on the water and let it run, before going over to the mirror. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, getting a good look at who I had become over the past three years. My pink hair had grown considerably over the years, appearing at neck-length now, gathered up in a top-knot, allowing the rest to fall around my face. My baby fat had since trimmed down to near nonexistent, and my face was lighter and my body slimmer.

I scratched the back of my head. Having this unusual length of hair was an irksome task to manage, as I wasn't used to having anything other than a low cut. Thankfully I had Mom to help me clean it up to avoid letting it get messy.

Even after four long years, I had moments where I still had trouble accepting the fact that the person I saw every day in the mirror was really me. Waking up and not seeing the person you had once been for ages… it was something that would take a long time to accept, even after all that's happened.

"Well… better get ready," I hummed to myself, stripping down and hopping into the hot bath water.

* * *

...

* * *

After finishing up my bath and getting dressed in the clothes Mom had picked out for me to wear—a black long-sleeve shirt with 'No Villains Allowed' printed in bond and two strips going around the stomach of the shirt, blue jeans and white low-top sneakers, I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Gush morwing, sun!" Dad greeted, his words nearly unintelligible from the food encompassing his mouth. I sweatdropped as I walked in to see Dad inhaling his breakfast. Seeing the chewed-up bits of rice and grilled fish spew from his mouth was enough to disgust me.

"Good morning, Dad," I said, cordoning my growing urge to vomit.

"Please show some etiquette dear; you'll rub off on Mirai!" Mom scolded, placing my bowl of rice and grilled fish on the table, "Sit and quickly eat your breakfast, we should be leaving in about fifteen minutes."

"Mom, what appointment are you taking me to?" I asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Well," Mom responded, pausing and taking a moment to give me a set of chopsticks, "Your father and I have decided to enroll you into preschool."

I looked fixedly at Mom, the notion hitting me unexpectedly; I had zero time to think about it, "Preschool?"

"Yes, dear," Mom responded, beginning to elaborate, "If you _did_ get enrolled, then you'd be with other children your age. Doesn't that sound fun?"

I wasn't sure whether to give my actual answer or go along with it, so I just sat there for a few seconds, just to ponder. Being cooped up, and somewhat isolated without much bonding with children my 'own age' for four entire years, it could easily affect any growing child.

Humans were social creatures by nature. If we weren't interacting for years upon years, like a muscle not being exercised, the skill would deteriorate. Then again, interacting with children for more than four hours wasn't exactly on my bucket list. Then _again_ , I couldn't spend the rest of my childhood talking with Mom, Dad and Aunt Kiyo.

I'm sure Mom and Dad noticed that too.

"Mirai'll love it!" Dad bellowed cheerfully, "And he's bound to make tons of friends, maybe even a little girlfriend with his great sense of humor and insane charisma! I mean, he is _my_ son."

I cracked a warm smile. Not that I needed someone to make me feel special, but it always made me feel good inside to know that my Dad showed a great deal of pride in having me as his son and being a father in general.

"See!" Dad exclaimed, hurriedly gesturing at my smile, "Even he knows he's going to be popular, just like his old man!"

"Be honest dear, you weren't all that funny and popular while we were at Shiketsu," Mom giggled.

Dad loudly gawked, tripping up and crashing backwards comically. He swiftly recovered and hopped up on his two feet and defensively pointed at Mom, "A-Aiko, don't act like you weren't always laughing at my jokes!"

"I was only laughing at how hard you were trying," Mom tittered for a few seconds before replying with a sweet smile, "But it's also one of the things that made me like you, dear."

Staring at Dad and seeing how lifeless he was, it was only a matter of time before I joined in Mom's loud tittering. In the back of my heart, I felt terrible poking fun at Dad like that, but just seeing how full of disbelief he was; it was hysterical. He held his jokes to a high standard, but how? I would never be able to wrap my head around how Dad thought his jokes were humorous. Sure they warranted a chuckle here and there, but he was _far_ from being a Dave Chappelle or Richard Pryor.

"I'll just go and—warm the car…" Dad said monotonously, exiting the kitchen and staggering out of the house. On the way out, I thought I had heard him say 'the principal thought I was funny.'

I turned to look at Mom, who had just about calmed down, "Wow. That was cold, even for you Mom."

"Maybe a little…" Mom said, tapping her chin before she smiled weirdly, "I'll just make it up to him later tonight."

Did... Mom really just say that? My stomach became knotted and a rush of nausea crept up on me as the sickening image of Mom and Dad doing _it_ popped into my head and taunted me. I gulped, the repugnant taste of bile leaking from my throat. Yay, something _else_ to make me gag and retch.

* * *

...

* * *

We sauntered through the vibrant corridor of the preschool I would be attending as Mom and Dad held my hands. Getting a good look at the place, I noticed the walls were yellow, with little stars painted over. The walls were decorated with colorful, children's drawings and messy scribbles of kanji; there was even a gigantic mural of a group of kids playing together by a tree that covered one entire wall.

The closer we got to the classroom, the more I felt an odd sense of urgency.

Though I was blindsided with all of this sudden news this very morning, I thought I would be ready for something minuscule like this. It was just preschool, a much simpler time. There were barely any tormenting bullies, love strifes, or high school drama. This was probably one of the first times I would spend more than three hours outside of the house in four years. I would actually be attending a school: starting my education and beginning my illustrious social life and start making new friends, or at this age: "playmates".

The comforting security which I felt with being home had been embedded deeply into my system. I felt out of place, this wasn't where I wanted to be. I just wanted to be home. This must have been what most children felt. Being away from Mom and Dad, the thought ripped me apart inside. My toddler body reacted, only multiplying the intense feeling.

I couldn't help but question why an adult such as me would be overreacting like this. I would just be away from them for a couple hours. Was I… ready to be away from my parents? I barely had any time to press my doubts and quell my anxiety as Mom and Dad came to a sudden halt. I peered at the door towering above me, a feeling of unfamiliarity impaling me.

"Are you ready, kiddo?" Dad asked, laying his hand on my shoulder.

I understood the gesture, him wanting to make sure I was fine before we entered the classroom to meet the caretakers or whatever, but I _wasn't_ okay with this.

"...N-no," I replied, unconsciously staring down at the floor, "C-Can we go back home… please?"

I could just _feel_ both of my parents espying me. My shame began to escalate, the thought of them wasting their time and breath to comfort me making me want to cry even more.

"Oh honey, it's okay," Mom comforted, "We understand that you'll miss Mommy and Daddy, but you'll only be here for a few hours."

"Mommy will be here to pick you up after school ends!" Dad said, "How does this sound? When I get home from work, we can all watch the GoGo-V movie you've been wanting to see."

I couldn't say that the idea wasn't inviting but dammit, I didn't want to hear about the colorful spandex warriors right now. As selfish as it sounded I wanted to go home—but you couldn't get everything you wanted in life.

 _'Sharpen up Mirai! If you can't handle a little preschool, then you can't even handle the dangers of being a Hero!'_

I lifted my head, wiping the tears off of my face and beaming widely, "That sounds good Dad!"

"Good!" Dad replied, grasping his shirt in a dramatic fashion, "Because I don't know what I was going to do if you started crying!"

He looked back at the door, grabbing hold of the handle. I composed myself, and the door widened; little by little, the interior revealed itself. "Let's go Aiko, Mirai!"

* * *

...

* * *

"Welcome to Little Angels Primary School, sir—is that the Figurine Hero: Puppetmaster?!"

Not even a second had passed by and cheering and fanfare had already erupted throughout the classroom. Children scrambled recklessly towards Dad, not even caring about my well-being, and pushed me aside. I made out Mom's harsh glare in my field of vision, as she expeditiously caught hold of my hand to help me avoid being trampled by the stampede of kids.

"Can I get an autograph, Puppetmaster sir?"

"I want a hug, Puppetmaster!"

"You're my favorite Hero!"

"When are you and Best Jeanist going to team up again?"

"Dumb kids…" I muttered under my breath. I couldn't blame them for running up to get autographs and attention from Dad, he _was_ a known superhero celebrity and that simply came with the game; but damn, did their parents bother to teach them manners?

"Let's settle down kids!" The female caretaker of the classroom approached the horde of children and began ushering the kids away from Dad, "Continue playing while we talk to Mr. Puppetmaster, okay?"

The kids continued to pester Dad, ignoring the gentle pleas of the teacher. That only served to infuriate me even more. Kids their age didn't know any better, but still.

"Please children, listen to the nice lady," Dad chuckled, "I'll have time to sign your autographs another time, I promise."

The atmosphere in the room sharply darkened, and the kids' hopes were smashed to smithereens. They reluctantly went back to whatever they were doing before, leaving us and the caretaker to our own devices. She bowed her head, keeping laying her arms to her sides.

"My deepest apologies, Puppetmaster and Mrs. Uh—Puppetmaster," she rose her head, "Those kids really love you and well, heroes in general."

She froze for a second, as if like she had seen a ghost, "Wait—just what is someone like you doing here? I don't think I heard any news of a Pro Hero coming to visit Little Angels…?"

"We're here to enroll our son Mirai," Mom clarified, "We scheduled for a meeting yesterday afternoon."

She squealed upon focusing her eyes on me, "Oh! The s-son of a Pro Hero?! We here at Little Angels would be honored to take such a kid in!"

She bent down to my level and began to speak in that child-friendly tone from before.

"Hi, Mirai! My name is Izuna but, please call me 'Nakamura-sensei'! You're gonna have _lots_ and _lots_ of fun here at Little Angel!" the lady said with too much enthusiasm for a small woman, patting my pain-haired head in the process.

"Hi, Nakamura-sensei," I replied plainly. Although I felt a twinge uncomfortable with some random lady I had just met touching me unexpectedly like that, I let the feeling go. I could tell she was a kind-hearted woman and thought quick to act, she meant no harm.

"Well, I'm running kinda late so I should be on my way now," Dad said, taking a peek at his wristwatch before tightly embracing me and delivering a kiss to Mom, taking his leave, "See ya later, kiddo!"

"Alright Mirai, Mommy has to get going too. _PRONTO_ is hosting their annual PRONCon a month from now, so I have to send these sketches in," Mom pecked my forehead with her lips, "Mommy will be here when it's time to go, okay?"

I sniffled a bit, forcing the remaining tears back in, "Okay, Mom."

"Good," Mom smiled, "I love you Mirai."

"Love you too…" And just like that, Mom had disappeared and I was left alone, with Nakamura-sensei and my fellow classmates.

"For starters, let's get you introduced to the other children!"

Nakamura-sensei took hold of my hand, guiding me over to the rainbow carpet in the classroom which was being occupied by a trio of kids, playing with toy cars. Dear God, _please_ spare me and make the day go faster.

* * *

...

* * *

Their broad eyes honed in on me, and their smiles grew astronomical.

With how profusely I was beginning to sweat, I had to question whether the air conditioner or central air was running properly in the room. Seeing all the children gathered up on the carpet, staring up at me with those hopeful, beady eyes: I hated it. They looked at me like they expecting something from me.

I wish I could have just snapped my fingers and made the children disintegrate into nothingness. I didn't know if that was just me thinking out of aggravation for being woken up in the morning and taken out of my comfort zone or if I really meant that, but I knew for sure that's how I was feeling right about now.

"Say hello to our new friend Mirai everyone!" Nakamura-sensei said.

"Hi Mirai!" the children greeted me simultaneously.

"We're going to treat him with love, respect and most importantly, the same as everyone else. Okay?" The female caretaker asked the group.

"Yes, Nakamura-sensei!" the kids agreed in unison.

Introductions were quickly out of the way, and actual activities continued afterward. Apparently, circle time—the first actual period of the day had ended shortly before I arrived and it was currently 'Center Time'. While staring at all the groups of children scattered at different stations throughout the room, it was safe to assume that the children were allowed to choose initially from several activity centers and then rotate from a different center and so forth.

Yet, I hadn't joined a single center or even moved around all that much. For the past three minutes, the 'center' for me had been the wooden bookshelf near the corner of the room. You'd think that with the child of a Pro Hero in their presence, they would flock to me, but they didn't; it was more like glancing over at me and whispering. I was certain that it was probably either they were too shy to come up and talk to me or they were just admiring me from a distance.

Not that it was any skin off my back if they didn't conversate with me.

I eyed the clock as it ticked mercilessly slow, and even fiddling with my fingers to help pass the time. 9:10; two hours and fifty minutes until Mom would swoop in and come to my rescue. My irritation couldn't help but worsen. That was too long of a wait for me—

"Mirai."

The delicate, yet croaky voice disrupted my lamenting, throwing my concentration off completely. I whipped around, and standing right there was a little girl. She had a boundless amount of dark sea-green hair which reached all the way to her midriff; some of her hair was gathered up and tied neatly into a pretty bow. She wore a white sleeveless sundress that was designed with green flowers and top it off, she wore green flip-flops. Her irises were coal black, her eyes wide and her mouth… strangely longer than the average kid as far as I was concerned.

"Mirai, that is your name right?" The green-haired girl repeated, pressing her abnormally long finger on her lips.

"Y-Yes, that's my name," I said, nodding my head stiffly, "Um… did you want something?"

She stared at me for what seemed like more than a couple seconds, her face utterly vacant of emotion, before beaming at me.

"I just saw you standing over here all alone and wanted to see if you were interested in playing with me," She said, turning to the side and pointing at the carpet, where a red bucket with blocks laid idle.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I was far from being in the mood to be playing with blocks, but the act of kindness from the little girl—I didn't want to be rude and refuse the kind offer. She didn't have to try to be friendly with me; she could have just left me in my little corner, but she didn't.

"Of course, I wouldn't lie," She remarked, a little wobbly smile forming on her face, "So, you will?"

"Sure, let's go play then," I said, deciding why the hell not.

But then it hit me.

"My bad for not asking until now but, what's your name?" I asked.

"My name?" she asked, once again placing her finger on her mouth, "Tsuyu, Tsuyu Asui."

* * *

...

* * *

I had accepted this world and my new life as reality, but I would've _never_ thought I'd come into contact with one of the main characters in _this_ unexpected way.

Tsuyu Asui.

My mind went blank, my eyes flickering in disbelief. I gazed at the little girl as she continued building her block tower and little by little, the resemblance between this child, _Tsuyu_ , and the teenage—Tsuyu began to become striking. Seeing her, I didn't know how in the _world_ I didn't see it at first sight; she was much younger, but the frog-like appearance should have triggered something in my head right then and there.

"So, Mirai, can I ask you a question?"

I halted my block building, directing my attention towards Tsuyu. Since moving to the 'Block Center', she hadn't been all that talkative, but neither was I; I was too busy being lost in my own thoughts to try and strike up a conversation. We just sat and went about building separate block towers, occasionally looking over at one another and smiling. This was the first time she had spoken up since coming up to me.

"Yes Tsuyu?" I responded promptly.

"It's about the hero, Puppetmaster," she said.

"What about my Dad?" I said, not really understanding what she was getting at.

"How is it?" she asked, placing her left index finger on her lip again, "Being the son of a great hero like Puppetmaster, that is."

"Well, if I'm being honest, it has its ups and downs," I answered, not beating around the bush, "I barely get to see my father sometimes since he's so busy taking down villains and patrolling. Though when I do see him, it's always great; never a dull moment!"

"That's nice," she smiled, "My dad's just a regular businessman and my mother's a veterinarian. Nothing really special to them."

Wow, even at this young age, she still never managed to bite her tongue, not even about her parents; further proof that the little girl in front of me really was indeed Tsuyu.

"There's nothing wrong with that," I replied, following up with a light chuckle, "At least you don't have to worry about your dad getting taken out by some villain."

"That's a way to look at it," she replied, steadily swaying her head side-to-side. She resumed her progress on her block tower, silence making its return. I felt a smidge awkward from how abruptly the conversation had ended, but I had to cut her some slack. She was still a child, her social skills still in development.

* * *

...

* * *

I sat crisscrossed beside Tsuyu, all of the kids once again gathered on the multi-colored carpet. Ms. Nakamura and another employee were teaching us a preschool song. The room pervaded with every children's voice, singing along in blissful coordination with the caretakers. I sat with my arms crossed in discomfort as everyone jollily danced and sang.

They never stopped to take a breath, their high-pitched neighing constantly whipping at my eardrums as they rose in volume.

I felt like a fish out of water, like I had no business being here.

At this point, I didn't even bother to peer over at the clock. I was bound to be stuck in this purgatory for an eternity.

I looked over at Tsuyu, who was also cheerfully singing along while clapping in rhythm with Nakamura-sensei's beat; I wasn't really surprised to see that her face was less animated as the other kids though. This was Tsuyu we were talking about.

At least she having fun for the both of us, but I couldn't help but envy these children, how they were able to enjoy such simple, mundane things for years of their life like building blocks or singing these cheesy songs. At one point in my original childhood, I was just like that, I was sure of it.

Maybe I longed for a second chance at feeling like a child, the innocence that was once corrupted to return all over again. To experience the blissful ignorance that came with being an actual child, inside and out; not just physically, but mentally.

Suddenly, a finger tapped my shoulder. I cracked my neck to the side and saw the person that was trying to get my attention. It was Tsuyu, with a rare smile on her face.

"Mirai," she called out, her voice straining to overpower the ensemble of kids' voice, "Sing with us!"

Her smile, it effortlessly broke through the hardy exterior I had built from my pent-up aggravation. Staring deeply into her hope-filled eyes, I submitted without much of a fight, mindlessly surrendering my soul to the music as I began dryly singing along. It was like saying no to a baby; it just wasn't possible. That was unless you had no soul and dammit curse _my_ soul.

* * *

...

* * *

It was about a quarter past eleven when all activities concluded, bathroom and free time rolled in. Nakamura-sensei lined the girls into a single-file line before taking them on a trip to the girl's bathroom. Around that time, I found myself browsing through the selection of literature and books the class library had to offer.

I went to the library with the intent to pass along the time; however, I ended up coming across a book called " _Start of Heroes_ ". Flipping through the colorful pages of the book, it wasn't just the vibrant pictures that enhanced and painted a visual picture in combination with the information, but the actual information contained in the simple children's book.

My Hero Academia was an on-going series, and it most definitely had way more life left in it before it would die out. Unfortunately, my limited knowledge only went up to the Pro Hero Arc, which revealed the new JP Hero Billboard and the 2nd-Top Pro Hero which Tokoyami completed his internship under, Hawks. Long story short, the lore hadn't finished being fully delved into and explored by the creator, and so many things about the upcoming of Hero Society and how the world got accustomed to the arrival of Quirks, were mostly unknown to me.

The book stated that although the first appearance of Quirks started in the city of Qing Qing, China with the _Luminescent Baby_ , the origin of heroics began in the United States. Considering the popularity of both superheroes and comic books in the US, it would only make sense for this development to take place.

Everybody, at some point, foolishly dreamed of being a superhero and thanks to the phenomenon of Quirks that followed the Luminescent Baby, something that was once fictional became nonfiction, people's once-forgotten aspirations had become reality and superheroes were born.

One of the first actual known American superheroes was not Captain America, but Captain Shakedown. He was a caped hero with an inspired 1970's, retro-disco atmosphere to his costume. His Quirk was, just like his name, _Shakedown_ : it allowed him to trance people who witnessed his dance moves, which comprised of outdated dances like the Sprinkler, the Samba and his ultimate move, the Robot; basically coining his attacks off of iconic and cultural dances.

A ridiculous Hero if you asked me, sure fashionable, but still utterly ridiculous. He was one of the first superheroes though and saved hundreds of endangered citizens, so I couldn't knock him as badly as I wanted to. The man deserved some respect.

Another one of the first American superheroes was The Chimera. He was a whopping mess of a Hero, his body being compromised with five different animals, accompanied by a dragon's tail. By the look on his face, he looked menacingly evil, like a villain. His Quirk: _Ani_ - _Combo_ was a Mutant-type Quirk, and so, his normal human anatomy had been replaced with animal parts. He could switch all of his body parts to whatever animal he had came into contact with, so yeah, the combinations were endless.

More information about him was written on the next page.

Apparently, he was the most-feared Hero of his time. He didn't have much of any fans due to his villain-like appearance and his violent way of taking care of things, like causing collateral damage without much care; however, that didn't mean much to him, as he only cared about taking down evil that had threatened his hometown city: Chicago, Illinois. He gave me a Gang Orca-esque mixed with Endeavor vibe, but who knew who this man was really? Not everything written in the history books was factual.

Last but not least, there was Tai-Ling; who I might add, appeared stunningly beautiful from the picture provided. The insane part about her was that she was a _Quirkless_ Hero. She mostly relied on her training in mixed martial arts to take down villains that had no idea how to properly utilize their Quirks. She mostly struck at the core of Villains past midnight, delivering swift justice upon evil-doers. The prospect of an actual famous Quirkless Hero, it was profound.

Quirkless people should have had little to no chance of becoming effective heroes, yet here was this woman. Maybe her effectiveness was thanks in part to Quirks being relatively new to the American society at that time, but there was no question she had to have been stupidly strong to go against super-powered human and render them useless nonetheless.

Also back then, the government wasn't too involved with the heroes and the public opinion varied from citizen-to-citizen. Some upheld and praised the people that sacrificed their lives unconditionally as heroes while the latter, mostly consisting of police officers and the government, saw them as vigilantes and thought they should be outlawed or even more drastic, killed.

"Tch, how could you be upset at people risking their own lives to save their own," was the question I kept asking myself.

The stupidity of some people never ceased to amaze me. But then I thought about it. The appearance of these Heroes, it was a shining beacon of hope of course, but it was a blindsiding turn of events; no one saw something like that coming. Their appearance affected those that a _lso_ worked to risk their lives for the betterment and protection of citizens: the police force. Jobs were at stake here, followed by families that were torn apart and shattered by villains, the secondary byproduct of Quirks.

It became clear why the world would erupt into chaos over something as magnificent and held as much weight as these supernatural abilities.

Change.

It's not just that people fear change, though they undoubtedly do. It's also that they genuinely believe, often on an unconscious level, that when you've been doing something a particular way for some time, it _must_ be a good way to do things. And the _longer_ you've been doing it that way, the better it is. Change wasn't just about embracing something unknown but about giving up something old for something _new_ and humans weren't ready for the sudden change.

And then I turned the last page and to my chagrin, the fantastic read had to come to a close.

Staring at the blank last page, it was left me unsatisfied. I wanted more, so I sought more. I dropped the book and scrambled back to the books inhabiting the wooden shelves. My eyes flickered, my hands roaming the books.

" _What a Provisional License Can Do For You!_ "

" _Tale of Ai: the Super Princess_ "

" _When Will Your Quirk Sprout?_ "

It wasn't until I picked up the third book I planned to read, that I heard Nakamura-sensei's voice rang out, killing off my immersion.

"All boys, please line up for the bathroom!"

Of course, just my luck. I slammed the book onto the floor, alongside the first and second book I picked out, and grumpily took my place in line behind seven other boys in front of me. All positioned in a straight line, we made our visit to the bathroom.

* * *

...

* * *

"Did your Quirk manifest yet, Mirai?"

I nervously itched the corner of my nose, my eyes straying from Tsuyu's. I was at the age of four, the age where your Quirk normally was supposed to manifest and yet, it hadn't made its awaited appearance yet. Was it waiting for some big occasion to sprout of nowhere?

"No, not yet…" I responded, trying to hide my uneasiness about the entire thing. On my fourth birthday, I had hoped and prayed for my Quirk, it would have been the ultimate birthday present for me, but it didn't come. Me ending up Quirkless, it wasn't far out of the realm of possibility. Whether I would get one or not, I attempted to push the thought to the back of my head. Some nights were harder than others, but it was something I continuously prayed about. My only hope is that I would be blessed with such a gift.

However, thanks to Tsuyu bringing it up, my doubts and worries resurfaced. A wave of depression toppled me, akin to that rip current that ultimately caused my death.

"Oh…" Tsuyu said, her voice lowering, before brightening up, "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I'm sure you'll get yours soon. As my mother and father told me, being without a Quirk is really rare nowadays. Some are just born with theirs, like me, but some have to wait until the age of four, maybe even a little longer than that."

"It's not your fault, you didn't know," I said, sheltering my head with my arms, "Besides, being optimistic is about the only thing I can do until that day comes."

"You don't seem like you're being optimistic," Tsuyu remarked, "It's bad for your health if you stress a lot."

"It may not seem like it, but I'm trying," I followed up, my somber mood clearly showing from the way I spoke.

"Alright, kids!" I slowly, but surely, lifted my head, and gave our female caretaker my full attention, "Let's begin Art Class!"

Oh yeah, that's right. My eyes lazily glared down at the color pencils and blank canvas paper pads that were passed out a little while ago.

"So, last Art Class what did we talk about and draw?"

Hands hurriedly and eagerly ascended into the air, each of the individual hands attempting to overpower one another. Ms. Nakamura paced back and forth and scanned the multitude of students' hands before abruptly stopping on a dime. She extended her arm outward in front of her, pointing into the horde.

"We talked about our favorite heroes," a female kid answered.

"Good job, Hana!" the teacher praised, before continuing on her lesson, "All of you did a super-duper job with that assignment yesterday, but today we're going to bring it down to a lighter note."

She continued, "I want you all to think about your role models in your life, people that you are inspired by. It can be anyone, from your parents or family to even superheroes. Nothing is off limits… except for villains of course, but you kids know that! Anyways, any questions?"

"No, Nakamura-sensei!" the kids exclaimed. Some began breaking off from reality, completing their assignment in their own little imaginative bubble, some others talking about the assignment. I would be associated with the former, as I instantly began brainstorming. A role model was a person that you looked up to, as an example to be imitated.

Off the bat the people that have been in my life since I was reincarnated popped into my mind.

Uh, Akira? I didn't really see him as a role model, for me at the very least. No knock on him but I didn't really know all that much about him other than that he was Dad's sidekick. He was cool and all, pretty nice actually, but I didn't feel like I wanted to be exactly like him.

Aunt Kiyo, I was even surer I didn't count as a role model. I loved her and the vibe and company she always brought whenever she visited us, but she wasn't someone I felt that I wanted to emulate either. She had a knack for being too childish and joking way too much for her age, and she was about the clumsiest and most accident-prone women I'd ever seen in _both_ of my existences.

It seemed about as fictional as it sounded, but you had to see it to believe it.

That crossed off two, leaving the biggest two candidates for what I would consider as my go-to role models.

Mom, the one that brought me into this crazy, mixed-up world. These past years, I had come to love and accept her as my new mother. She had a heart of gold and always cherished anyone in her presence. Whenever I was feeling down, or sickly, she would always be there to nurture me back to health. She always made an effort to please me, to always make sure I was happy. She was knowledgeable, beautiful and kindhearted and I've come to learn a lot about the foreign environment and customs, all thanks to her.

But then Dad, the one that actually _allowed_ Mom to be able to bring me into this crazy, mixed-up world. It was true; I didn't really get to see Dad nearly as much as Mom, but it never fractured the tight-knit bond we had as father and son. Whether it be a good or bad day for him after he returned home from patrolling or battling hard against some villain, we could always joke around together. He brought a more wacky and uncontrollable energy to my life, as opposed to Mom's calm and serene aura. Even on his worst days, he was high-spirited and always strived to put a smile on my face.

He was also one of my main inspirations for wanting to become a hero in the first place. He embodied what a true hero was supposed to be, going out every single day and putting his life at risk, throwing all his fears to the side; all just to save someone in need. In my eyes, Dad was as big of a symbol to me as All Might was to the entire country of Japan. I truly wanted to be like him, to be someone that millions of people could look up to and rely on.

I didn't know how I had gotten so lucky to have such parents, but I didn't know what I would ever have done without them; they were both my rock. They deserved all of the credit for their parenting. Being great parents and setting your children on the right path wasn't easy, a lot of sacrifices and tough decisions would have to be made and they definitely passed the criteria necessary.

Choosing between Mom and Dad was like choosing between not being able to eat or drink for the rest of your life; it wasn't possible. And so I chose both of them as my role models. There was a chance that we would be showing our finished products to our parents, so I desired to make something worthy of showing off to Mom and Dad.

I wasn't the greatest artist by any means, but at the age of four, you can bet I could create some visionary art—of stick figures. I collected a few diverse colors to commence the creation of my masterpiece portrait of me and my parents.

I peeked over at Tsuyu, who was sitting next to me, already getting a good start on her art project.

"Whatcha' working on over there?" I asked, hoping to strike up a nice little conversation.

Her eyes didn't abandon the paper, but she did reply in a deadpanning tone, "Drawing my role models like everyone else."

Well, couldn't fault her; she got me there.

"Yeah, that's probably not the best question," I said, laughing it off, "I guess I should ask _who_ are the role models you chose?"

Her hands stopped scribbling across the canvas paper, and she lifted the canvas pad to show me. The artwork was about what you would expect from a toddler, a bunch of colorful deformed, disproportionate figures; but it still contained the imaginative spark that could only be produced from a youngin.

"That's my papa," she clarified, pointing to the far drawing on the left. He was a tall, stocky man with short cropped black hair. His face was akin to a toad, as his name also hinted at. He wore a business suit, complete with a bubble-themed tie. If I hadn't read that extra chapter, I would not have been able to identify just who that was without Tsuyu's help.

Ganma Asui was his name if I remembered correctly. I decided to play along. It'd be super creepy if I 'mysteriously' somehow knew her father's name, especially as she hadn't revealed either of her parents' names to me yet.

"What's his name?" I asked, putting my assignment on hold.

"Ganma," she answered, bringing the pad to her eyes to check her drawing. She stared at it for a brief moment before showing it to me again.

"He's a big role model in your life, huh?" I continued asking. I was hoping she didn't get overwhelmed or rubbed the wrong way with all my questions, I was just hoping to get to know her better.

"Yes, ribbit," she answered croakily, "He's always been kind of loud and strict, but he always treats me and mama nice. He works a lot, just to make his family happy and… I love him for that."

"That's good, he sounds like a good dude," I scoured the rest of the pad and picked up on the other drawn figure on the far right.

Was she drawing both of her parents too? Guess great minds thought alike.

The other figure to the right was a female with long dark green hair in a similar style to Tsuyu's. She wore a simple sweater and had blush marks on her cheeks. As you would expect, her face was structured to look like a regular frog. Her name was Beru Asui.

"You look just like her," I pointed out, looking up at Tsuyu. It was apparent that the Frog Quirk user got more of her mother's genes than her father's, even inheriting the blush marks from her mother, one their most iconic features besides their eyes and mouths.

"That's what a lot of people say," Tsuyu gleamed, her smile widening to above average proportions, "It makes me happy because I think she's very, very pretty!"

I combatted my compulsive urge to squeal and snuggle the girl's face with mine. The last thing I needed was for her to tell the employees or her parents that the new boy in preschool tried to make an 'inappropriate' move on her. She was just _that_ cute though.

"She's always caring for me and always protects me at night from those villains out there," she recapitulated, "She's the best Mom in the world and I want to be like her when I grow up."

"I feel the same way," I said, smiling.

"It sucks that my brother's always giving her a hard time, but I'm sure he will come around."

"Wait, you have a little brother?" I asked, knowing good and well that I knew who her brother was as well. In the current timeline of the manga, Samidare Asui was revealed to be ten years old. Using my deduction skills, that would mean that he would have to be either be an infant or still unborn and confined within his mother's belly.

"Yes, his name is Samidare," she explained, "He's so cute and small, but he's always crying. Mom and Dad don't really get a lot of sleep because of him, me too sometimes."

"Oh—you know, I've always wanted a little brother or sister, but I don't know if that'll ever happen," I informed her. It had been four years and I guess Mom and Dad didn't really seek to make another baby. Mom was still very young and still capable of becoming impregnated, but maybe they just decided one was enough.

"Again, they are cute but are a lot of work, that's what my Mom says to me," Tsuyu said, "If anything, I could share my brother with you."

Hearing her say something as nonsensical as that was laughable. I had always seen a sense of reality and rationality in Tsuyu's personality, but here, she was talking about sharing her sibling with me. Her line of thought was still somewhat that of a child but it's not like I should have expected anything less.

Learning about Tsuyu's family and actual thoughts and emotions from _her_ instead of through a comic, it gave off a different feeling. She no longer felt like a character that felt human, but didn't really exist; but rather, an actual person. I was having a legitimate conversation with Tsuyu Asui, someone that was her own person, not just a fictional character reinstating dialogue written by some Japanese man.

"Twenty minutes everyone!"

Tsuyu seemed to have understood the clock was ticking, and faced front, refocusing her attention back on her art project.

That's right, my project! I looked back at my blank canvas. With twenty minutes left, I should have been able to finish the assignment, albeit I wouldn't have much time to refine and correct it to my satisfaction. Grasping the pink colored pencil, I went on to race against time.

* * *

...

* * *

It was 1:30PM and my "grandiose" first day of preschool had come to a conclusion. One by one, the parents arrived to pick up their children. About five minutes in, it was only a couple of other kids waiting for their parents, me and Tsuyu included. Since her mother hadn't arrived yet, she decided that it would fun to pass the time with a great game of i-Spy.

"It's a rectangle, you can play games on it, and a lot of people own them," she relayed to me.

My eyes roamed around the room, recounting the three descriptions of the object mentally. Something that was a rectangle, you can play video games on and was owned by a lot of people. There weren't really a copious number of things in a classroom that would fit the specific illustration, so it was quick work to narrow my choices down. And just like that, my eyes came into contact with the only thing that could have possibly been the answer.

"I spy with my little eye—a computer!" I exclaimed confidently.

"Sorry, you're wrong," she replied flatly, with a slight smile on her face nonetheless.

My jaw anchored to the floor in incredulity, my confidence withering away. I jumped to my feet dramatically, "What, how?! If the computer isn't the object, then what is it?"

She turned her head diagonally and pointed the TV set on the black cart, "It's a TV."

"Dam—gosh, that's crazy!" I growled, also managing to catch myself. I didn't just overestimate myself, but I _definitely_ underestimated her; not expecting to be able to trick me like that.

"That was a good one, my turn though!"

"Bring it on then," she challenged, her voice still almost vacant of any positive emotion. I already had the perfect object in mind, our very own teacher. It was a genius idea if I did say so myself. Before I could begin to describe her, speak of the devil, she came up behind me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry for ruining you and Tsu's fun, but your mother is here," Nakamura-sensei said.

I whipped around and just as she had said, Mom was there; standing in the doorway. You would have thought that I was someone seeing the light in a tunnel of darkness for the first time in years the way I bolted towards her.

"Mom!" I blurted out, jumping into her waiting arms. She took me into a warm cuddle, holding me in her arms and not letting go for a couple of seconds. Breaking it off, she caressed my cheek.

"Someone's happy to see mommy," she grinned, kissing me on my forehead, "Did you enjoy your first day?"

Once again, the decision to tell the truth or lie presented itself and I chose the latter, "I had a lot of fun today! I can't _wait_ for tomorrow!"

"I'm so happy to hear that dear!" Mom exclaimed, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree, "Alright, let's get on home now; Aunt Kiyo's on her way to the house."

"Um… see you tomorrow, Mirai."

Tsuyu was now standing up, fidgeting around with her fingers and staring at me. There was an inkling of sadness in her eyes.

A pang of guilt hit me. I didn't do anything wrong but just to see her standing there, looking pitiful; it gave off the impression that I was betraying her by leaving off.

"Is this one of the friends that you made today?" Mom asked, "Go say goodbye to her before we leave, Mirai."

I was already on it, motioning towards her. Her eyes seemed to illuminate, a smile replacing the solemn look she had on her face. Stopping in front of her, I reached my arms out to her and embracing her. She must have been shocked, because she replied with a yelp, before returning the embrace soon after. A fleeting second and we both let go, smiling at each other.

When I woke up that day, I wouldn't have guessed in a million years that I would have met Tsuyu Asui. Throughout the entirety of my first day, we had interacted and gotten to know some things about each other. The seeds of friendship had been planted, but... did I really want to go along with it?

Me being friends with Tsuyu, this early on, would it affect the timeline in some dramatic way that I would've never guessed? One of my more constant worries is that me just being here, in this world I wasn't supposed to be in, and wanting to get into UA. That small event alone could most likely throw the entire events of the actual series out of whack. The Butterfly Effect was a bitch and could throw a lot of things out of a balance, especially accompanying that with Murphy's Law, which had a deep attraction to me and disrupting my life.

However, I had decided to go through with the risk of attending U.A. and now I was going to take the risk of being her friend. From my experience today, Tsuyu was a genuinely sweet and welcoming little girl and as long as I attended this preschool, I would be her friend. It wouldn't have sat well with me to ignore someone wanting to be my friend anyways.

"See you tomorrow, Tsuyu!" I dimpled.

Would being the friend of a main character really affect the future of this world? Not even Nostradamus himself could predict what would happen.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's the end folks! So, so, how did you enjoy the surprise? Like I said, it was probably obvious from the chapter's title name lol. A while back, when I was first brainstorming, I had originally planned for Mirai to meet Yaoyorozu at the age of four; but then I felt like a friendship with Tsuyu would have been a lot funnier and a set up for a bunch of hilarious, cute moments. This is the start to a beautiful friendship to put it shortly. **

**It's crazy though because I had just found out that Tsuyu and Momo both live in the Aichi Prefecture too.**

 **Also, about Aiko's occupation and the entire _PRONTO_ company idea. I have a whole bunch of ideas for the company. It'll definitely be explain more as everything continues. Will it play an integral part in the story? Time will tell. Banri/Puppetmaster has also risen up to Rank #19. This was a hard decision because I didn't want to to make him too low, but I didn't want him to be in the top 10. **

**Dialogue is kind of a challenge for me at the moment, so I'm lacking some confidence in that area. Just let me know how do you guys feel about it. That's all I have to say for this note. Have a blessed day/night, wherever you are! Until next time.**


	8. Path to Hero Arc: Chapter 7

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death would lead me to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks."

EDIT (9/1/18): Got around to fixing a couple minor typos and added in another exposition paragraph, enhancing the story a bit more lol.

 **And another chapter down! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 07: Panic

* * *

" _Stop right there_ , _you fiend!_ "

I ogled at the laptop screen, my gaze never breaking from the extravagant display. Everything around _him_ had been caked in flames and smoke; debris from devastated buildings piled up, bespattering the area's once bustling and lively setting. The large clouds above were gray and dismal, the sky darkened with bleakness. Rain poured down violently, pattering against the earth; yet _his_ body and spirit never wavered, even in the face of the wide-scale gorilla villain.

The villain tightened his grip on the edge of the building, not daring to let go of the building or the woman he had in his devious clutches. He bellowed, his ferocious cries reverberating throughout the city. The petrified woman screamed violently and shook uncontrollably, unable to keep calm while under captivity.

" _Please save me, Puppetmaster!_ " she shrieked desperately.

" _Don't you worry miss, I will save you!_ " He bravely proclaimed, pounding his fist into his chest, " _You can count on it!_ "

He propelled his arm into the air, three Matryoshka dolls located on his utility belt ripping off and zipping around the scene at break-neck speed, impacting with the gorilla's body; the sheer deceptive strength of the dolls creating small craters in the rampaging criminal. Its grip weakened on the building, before it began descending to the ground rapidly.

The lady's shrill pleas intensified when the gorilla's hands opened up, releasing her from his grasp. She was approaching the ground and fast. That's when—

" _I've got you!_ " another doll soared towards the falling woman, before popping open; a jumbo mattress revealing itself. In the nick of time, the mattress planted itself on the floor, the woman following right after it. Her body bounced on the plushy surface before gradually coming to a stop.

Sitting there, she blinked innumerable; her life seeming to have flashed before her own eyes. In that moment, the rain cleared up and the sun took its rightful place, shining brightly on the once grim scene. The villain had been apprehended and taken into custody, the woman had been rescued and the day had been saved. Helicopters overhead continued taking in the footage as a squad of policemen and hospital carriers rushed into the scene. Reporters and photographers flooded the pink-haired man, aggressively shoving their cameras and microphones into his face. The uproarious snipping and snapping of the cameras nearly cancelling the questions out.

" _Outstanding rescue Puppermaster, but don't you think that decision there was a little too risky_?!"

" _Was that the new Rescue-type support doll item you've been teasing your fans about_?"

" _You've been on a roll lately in terms of resolving cases; do you feel like you deserve more of a higher Hero Rank than #19_?"

" _Listen here_ ; _being the #19 Ranked Hero or the #1 Ranked Hero isn't much of anything to me. Just being able to save people in need is enough_!" he stated, waving off the reporters' persistent questions.

He flashed his trademark smile towards the filming camera, standing proudly and triumphantly, "I'll always be here to dish out justice, so again: you can count on me. Now if you excuse me, I have a wife and son to get home to."

The video ended.

I stared endlessly at the black screen, the rewinding circle on it tempting me to replay the complete video all over again. Seeing my reflection in the screen, I noticed the big goofy smile plastered on my face. I was so absorbed in the video that I didn't even notice. I had lost count of the number of times I had watched the video. Everything about it: from the high stakes to the glorious rescue and victory. It was a motivating showing of heroics laid out in full view for the world to see, something comparable to All Might's debut video in my eyes.

The actual incident took place two weeks ago, near Musutafu, Japan. Listening in on Dad conversing about it with Mom, I had overheard him say it had to do with some married couple that was going through a tough spot and facing an imminent divorce. One morning, the father finally snapped and went berserk, unleashing his Quirk and taking the mother hostage; threatening to kill her if anyone tried to stop him.

I chuckled, feeling overjoyed. To terrorize a woman that you supposedly "love" and called your wife, he sincerely was a low-life and got what he deserved in the end.

With a top-notch hero like my father around town, he should have thought twice about what he was doing before he went through with it. Dad might have been the #19 Hero, but he was #1 for me, or at least #2. I invariably had a constant ongoing internal debate on whether Dad was my favorite superhero or All Might, but I was unceasingly indecisive on my choice. If someone asked me around Mom and or Dad though, he would be the undisputed choice.

"Mirai!" a certain gentle voice called from downstairs, "It's coming on!"

Those words were like magic to my ears. "Coming Mom!"

I looked over and examined the calendar on the wall of my room and to my elation; it was really today!

I shut the laptop and darted out of my room; speed walking down the case of stairs at the highest speed that speed walking would allow me. I was psyched, my body jolting with zest and vigor for the event that I had been craving to see since Dad told me about it two weeks ago.

Today was the day of Dad's big interview with some famous hotshot night show host named Mori Hashitaka. This Mori guy had been known critically for his witty nature and the confident aura that he displayed on air; a standard example of a television personality, but he was still damn good at his job. He solely interviewed superheroes and discussed viral topics in the hero industry on his hit night show: Late Night Hero Extravagances with Mori Hashitaka, from smaller, less-known ones to the giants like All Might and Yoroimusha.

This was Dad's first huge interview and a milestone in his career, further signifying and solidifying his popularity as one of the popular heroes in today's society. I held a great deal of pride in Dad and what he did for a living and seeing him succeed was something that both Mom and I were delighted to bear witness to.

I took a chance and recklessly dove off the last three stairs; my feet collided with the tatami covered floor. I controlled my posture before taking off into the living room where Mom was.

Hearing me enter, she looked up from the table and smiled at me. The table was covered with various drawing pads and other materials such as measuring tape, a pair of dressmaker's shears and an assortment of pencils, rulers and chalk. I wasn't taken aback by the excessive view, having grown accustomed to seeing it every day for the past three weeks. Mom had been hard at work, crafting the dresses for the upcoming fashion show that _PRONTO_ was holding a week from now. Understanding the importance of the occasion, I tended to leave her be so she could focus all of her attention on her creations.

"Three more minutes before it starts," Mom informed me, before returning her attention back to the dress she had been creating at that moment. I analyzed Mom's hand, watching as she masterly maneuvered the red strings of fabric around; weaving and entwining it together to build on the progress of the sundress' skirt.

This was one of the many times I had watched Mom and her process. Her Quirk, _Fiber Strings_ , worked fittingly with crafting and repairing clothing. It not only conveniently sped up the usual meticulous procedure that came with constructing your own dresses and garments, but also allowed her to utilize many of the best fabrics known-to-man to create her works.

From Marbled Velvet to Paris Chiffon, her choices were infinite. I found that it worked in a similar way to Yaoyorozu's _Creation_. For her to be able to secrete the fiber, she had to understand the contents of the fibers. When you thought about it, she was literally a walking sewing machine.

However it wasn't just her Quirk that led to her worldwide fame, but her artistic ability that also immensely contributed to her success in the industry. From the many times I had watched Mom sketch out her visions, I could tell how much of an extraordinary, experienced artist she was. Her ability to conjure up creative, fashion-forwarding clothing from just her imagination was astounding, and her compositional skills were brilliant. The incredible amount of time, effort, tears and passion she had to have put into her craft to get to this moment in her life _and_ career, it was truthfully unremarkable.

Not everyone that worked hard achieved success, but those that did achieve success worked hard and Mom was one of those people.

I smiled widely at her, showing off my pearly whites before taking a seat on the sofa beside Mom. I scooted closer to her, getting a good luck at the dress she was currently bringing to life.

The dress featured many different layers of colors, the black and white frills of the skirt abundant. The midriff of the dress was wrapped with multi-colored beads. It was sleeveless and parted the area below the neck, allowing the bosom to breathe. It screamed futuristic, yet regal and powerful. The great thing about Mom as a fashion designer and an artist is that all of her works were different in what feeling they were trying to convey but the consistency remained all the same.

"How goes the progress?" I asked, my eyes still gazing at the design.

"There you go again, speaking so eloquently," Mom grinned at the extensive vocabulary that I often displayed. Talking like a child wasn't something that I could keep up, so I just made sure to talk like how I would usually talk; just without the heavy use of slang that I tended to overuse in my previous time on Earth.

Mom and Dad didn't really question it, seeing it as me just being intelligent for my age. Thankfully enough, they weren't the kind of parents to forcibly ship me off to some school of genius prodigies. Just thinking about it made me appreciate my parents more.

"I'm just about finished with 97% of the outfits," Mom continued, "Our CEO needs everything by tomorrow to prepare for the weekend. Everyone's on crunch time really since we're trying to make this the best one yet."

The annual PRONCon was set to begin on Monday and last until Sunday, the entire week. I didn't know what kind of lavish, dazzling show they were trying to put on but Monday through Sunday, to me, seemed like more than an enough time to get their rehearsal down to a tea and decorate the exterior and interior.

But what did I really know about the process that went into fashion designing and conventions.

" _Hello and welcome ladies and gentlemen, not to mention all you freaks out there!_ "

Mom and I instantly fixed our attention on the late night television program being displayed on the flat-screen TV. Standing in the center of the set was a massive and bulky bald man with a black goatee and green eyes. He had three silver earrings pierced into his left ear and wore an expensive blue suit. His hands and neck were lined with jewelry.

" _I am your host, Mori Hashitaka, and welcome back to Prime_ - _Time Hero Extravagances_!" Mori Hashitaka energetically exclaimed.

I keenly stared at the screen, gripping the edge of the couch; anxiously anticipating the moment that we had been waiting for.

" _Today's steaming hot topics include: 'Crimson Riot taking a break from his hero duties?', 'All Might sighted on film set?', 'A brewing war arising from the underworld?' and last but not least, the cream of the crop, an interview with new hit Hero sensation, Puppetmaster! It's all coming to you now, live—_!" Mori's enthusiastic voice unexpectedly was cut short, the night show being replaced with a white screen and the letters NHK within a purple circle insignia.

My breath caught a hitch, blindsided by the sudden switch. I sprung to my feet, anger beginning to fuel me. I went to open my mouth to express my discontent of the news disrespectfully interrupting Dad's interview when a female reporter appeared on the screen.

"I am your reporter Reiko, and this is breaking news on NHK News," the female reporter said. The kanji on the headline read: Five People Murdered in Bloody Massacre. I contemplated the headline, my rage seeming to dispel and replace with a sense of mourning.

I couldn't help but look away from the gruesome headline.

Another day, another senseless tragedy. It really was just sad how people could wake up and be going about their daily lives and suddenly, their lives are ended, mistakenly or intently. I didn't want to even begin to think about how the victims' families were dealing with something heart wrenching as this. Just goes to show that life was fragile and not all heroes could save the day. If they could, I'd still be alive in my old world right now.

Mom ceased her hand movement, leaning towards the front of the sofa as she gazed gloomily at the news being broadcasted.

"We are reporting live from Toyota City where a gruesome massacre has just occurred over twenty minutes ago," the female reporter further explained, stepping a bit to the side to reveal the countless amounts of policemen, investigators and Pro Heroes at the crime scene. "Five people have been murdered and their bodies have been mutilated beyond belief. The criminal's Quirk has been suspected to be something related to animals due to the traces of various animal furs and feathers being left behind in the crime scene."

"The suspect is still at large in the Aichi Prefecture, if you notice a man with black hair, a black jacket and checkered sneakers, do _not_ hesitate to report this wanted villain to any nearby heroes and or the authorities!" the lady continued, a tone of controlled urgency in her voice.

The breaking news broadcast came to an end and the late night program made its return. The air felt heavy from the chilling news but I still managed to return to my seat on the couch. Suddenly, I felt Mom delicately take hold of my hand.

"Everything's going to be alright," Mom reassured, gently pulling me next to her, "With the heroes around, it won't be long before he's taken down."

* * *

...

* * *

Monday had rolled around, and the weekly cycle repeated itself from scratch. a new week of preschool was upon me and strangely enough, I was looking forward to it. Most days were usually fine, but there were days that weren't as easygoing and fun as others.

I had no problem with the other kids and didn't expect them to fully realize it, but after a while, their over affection and attention I got was a bit... overbearing. Nakamura-sensei made it a priority to straighten the kids out when they were being too intrusive or bombarding me with questions and it worked—for the most part. Every so often, I'd be in the middle of playing or talking with Tsu when they would come up to me and ramble on about how they want to meet Dad and if they could meet him or for a limited edition Puppetmaster figurine and I'd almost always have to wave them off and promise to talk to them later.

All the attention was frustrating to deal with, especially when I was just trying to enjoy myself. Of course if they were trying to be friends with me for me and not because of my father, I'd have no problem with that, but they weren't from what I saw. If things were like this now, I could only imagine what I had in store for myself when I reached junior high.

Despite that slight hiccup, attending the preschool had become something I considered lively and entertaining, at least to the point to where it didn't feel like a chore and it all had to do with a certain someone. It all traced back to Tsuyu and our budding friendship. I could probably go on for hours about how much of an adorable little angel she was butt then we would be here forever. Tsuyu and I had seemed to connect and stay connected ever since that fateful day. I guess she had considered me a dear friend as she had begun calling me by the nickname: 'Mi-chan'.

It took me a good week to properly get used to the sudden nickname. All in all, it was an endearing, kind gesture and so I felt obligated to do the same. I'd never forget that look on her face when I dubbed her with the nickname Tsu-Tsu. Tsuyu had no problems expressing how she felt and how she did it. She wasn't one for showing much emotion in her looks, but that time; there was an obvious look of disgust on her face. There was a part of me that really, and I mean _really_ , wanted to keep the nickname despite how much she seemed to hate it.

I mean all the great nicknames ever conceived were nicknames that people didn't like or want any association with. However, I decided it would be best to be considerate of her feelings and let the nickname idea fade away.

Tsu-chan it was.

We also made it a routine to always greet each other with a cool, little personal handshake every day; something that was my idea. In Japan, it was customary to either bow or shake hands plainly, but I decided to go against that and provide a little flair to the established customs. It's not like the handshake was harmful to anyone; it was just a way to make a friendship special.

Ms. Nakamura also seemed to take a notice to how close to the hip we seemed to be every day. She would often drop by us while we were talking or playing and cheer our friendship on. Personally, I felt like she was keeping a close eye on us to make sure we weren't doing anything reckless or inappropriate.

She was just doing her job, so I would wave it off and go about my business with Tsuyu as usual.

Over the course of the past few weeks, we also learned a lot about each other. Ranging from small things like our favorite color and favorite cartoons to big things like our interests and dreams. From a young age, Tsuyu seemed to have set her sights on attending the prestigious hero school that was U.A. Great thing about that was that's where I planned to head too.

Though something unbeknownst to me prior to that day was that Tsuyu loved to tend and care for their families' backyard flower garden alongside her mother. She didn't say it but from the way she feverishly spoke about it, I could tell that it was a great passion of hers. The garden was her haven and a place where she could enjoy nature and its fresh air and world it brought. She had hopes that maybe I could visit and see the garden, to which I replied with a reluctant "sure."

I admitted, I couldn't empathize with her on that one. I was one of those people that overlooked the beauty that was _nature_ but only because of the revolting insects and venomous reptiles that existed in that kind of environment. Any place with an amplitude of harmful spiders and snakes that wanted to pray on my body and soul?

Yeah, count me out please.

* * *

...

* * *

"Mi-chan," Tsuyu said suddenly, grabbing my attention from the fantasy picture book I was reading, "Did you hear about that villain on-the-loose on the news last night?"

 _Five People Killed in Bloody Massacre_. The horrific headline materialized within my thoughts. I shuddered when I thought about the recent tragic news.

"Yeah... it's really sad that those innocent people died the way they did," I replied, a little down and out from just thinking about it, "Have the police caught the person yet?"

Tsuyu tipped her finger against her mouth, "Ribbit."

I'd just take that as a no then.

"I hate people like that, killing senselessly," I huffed, shaking my head in anger, "The world would be a much safer place without people like that."

"It's really evil," she blankly replied, "But the heroes will find someone to take whoever did it down."

"Well I hope they catch him soon," I stated before exhaling, attempting to calm my nerves down. The heroes _would_ handle this. Although the villain had proved to be evasive, it's not like he was as insanely powerful as All For One or as elusive as Hero Killer: Stain. He wasn't uncatchable but I could only hope and pray that they something was done soon.

* * *

...

* * *

Tsuyu and I had been playing our third set of our little _competitive_ game of rock-paper-scissors; might I add not all _that_ competitive with the score being 4-1 with Tsu on top after guessing my picks seamlessly, when a bunch of rumbling interrupted our playing. We both looked towards the source of the noise and saw children crowded up in a circle.

"Fumiko, your Quirk!" The children wowed in wonder, their eyes twinkling at whatever they were observing.

Were my ears messing with me? Someone's Quirk was manifesting right now?!

I vaulted to my feet and ran towards the herd of children, Tsuyu following behind me; deftly leaping across the floor on all fours. We approached the flock and peered through the gaps available to us.

Fortunately for Tsuyu, she had found a clear opening; somehow managing to get a first-row seat ticket to the spectacular extravaganza. I was stuck with the short end of the stick, only seeing the damn rainbow carpet and the pink slip-up shoe of the little girl. I examined and tried to see if there were any other holes but nope, nadda, zilch.

"Mi-chan, over here," Tsuyu called out to me, moving over slightly to make room for the both of us. I smiled gleefully, making my way to her.

I gazed through the gap and what I saw, it left me awestruck; in wonder at what I was seeing before my own irises. The little girl, Fumiko, was barely fluttering off the ground with the two pairs of small wings she had suddenly sprouted from her. The four wings were covered with colorful, iridescent scales in overlapping rows. Like an actual butterfly, she grew four other jointed legs, a pair of antennae on the top of her forehead and compound eyes.

Nakamura-sensei merrily danced around the little girl, encouraging and praising Fumiko, "Fumi, your Quirk is so lovely, it's amazing!"

"R-Really, Nakamura-sensei?" the girl stammered, squirming and blushing from the salutes and praise of her peers.

"I would never lie, it's truly beautiful; just like you!" our female teacher exclaimed, clasping the flying Fumiko and embracing her.

Fumiko yelped at the sudden embrace, but quickly softened and tightly hugged her back. Tears of joy began shedding down from her eyes and onto her cheeks. All of the kids began jumping up and down, some of them even unleashing their Quirks in celebration for the momentous occasion.

Tsuyu smiled slightly, her finger tic appearing for the umpteenth time today, "I'm happy for her."

"Yeah, it's a… neat Quirk," I commented, giving a weak, half-hearted smile. I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't green with envy. One thousand four hundred sixty days in and my Quirk hadn't presented itself. During all of my recent doctor's appointments, my x-ray had shown that my extra toe joint hadn't grown in yet.

It was bound to happen any day now though. Uhm, yeah, that was right, I had to keep my head up and pray that everything would work itself out. I wouldn't have been reincarnated here to fulfill some sort of destiny, just to be Quirkless in the end.

It would come—

Eventually.

* * *

...

* * *

A bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, some pickled vegetables, and teriyaki salmon cooked in Teriyaki sauce, mirin and grated with ginger on top; couldn't forget Mom's freshly brewed green tea beverage. It was about the usual dinner that I had come to expect from Mom night-in and night-out. Would I have loved something of a different variety and flavor? Sure, but you could never go wrong with old reliable; and it helped that Mom was an expert at devising the go-to supper meal.

Just like every time before we started dinner, Mom made sure to grab me a pair of chopsticks from our personal dispenser before taking her seat at the table. Next, came one of the most essential phrase in the Japanese vocabulary. We cupped our palms together in prayer and happily exclaimed, " _Itadakimasu_!"

Picking up the wooden sticks and stiffening my hand on them, I attacked the teriyaki salmon without hesitation. Slipping one of the flaky, tender and pan-fried perfections into my mouth, I chewed vigorously; a substantial burst of juicy flavor from the sweet and salty teriyaki sauce marinating the salmon satisfying my taste buds. The texture was fatty, the flavor generously zesty. It only took a mere fifteen minutes to complete the simple dish, but the quality was still superb; tasting as if it came from a five-star restaurant.

"Sweetheart, how is it?" Mom asked, frowning slightly while sharing a hesitant look at me, "I think I might have put too much sauce on the fish this time around."

"What? No!" I swiftly reassured, mistakenly dropping the other salmon I had in my chopsticks' grasp, "It's amazing, just like always!"

"Oh, thank goodness! Mommy's happy you're enjoying it!" Mom respired, her previous glowering visage brightening up and her body relaxing.

I gave a toothy smile before reclaiming the teriyaki salmon that had escaped back onto the blue glass shallow bowl and dropping it into mouth.

"So," Mom said, getting my attention once again, "How are you and your new friend Tsuyu?"

The name instantly put a smile on my face. I guess Mom must have noticed how giddy I got in response to her question and giggled.

"Hmm… well, she's kind of blunt and hard to read most of the time, but she's really nice and always sharing her snacks with me," I admitted.

"That's great to hear, Mirai," Mom ebulliently cried, "She does seem like a kind little girl. One of these days maybe your father and I can have chat with Tsuyu's parents and schedule a play date!"

"Sounds fun." I joyously gleamed. The idea of a play date never crossed my mind, but I didn't see how I could pass up spending more time with Tsu. She was the only true friend I had and naturally, because of that, I held our friendship dear to my heart. Aside from just that, it would also allow me and her to interact more freely, away from the structured setting that was school.

Who knows? Maybe Mom and Dad could hit it off with Beru and Ganma and form some kind of parent allegiance.

Wait. I glanced over at the clock in the kitchen, observing the time written on the time-telling device. The hour hand pointed at nine and the minute hand located in between 30 and 35. An hour past the time he normally would have returned home.

"Did Dad call and say he would be out patrolling late tonight?" I asked. Staring at Mom, I took note of how she drew her mouth into a straight line and bit her lip. Okay, that wasn't the response I had predicted when I asked the straightforward question. I didn't want to read too much into it, however her dubious reaction told me something… otherwise.

There was something more to it.

"Daddy won't be home tonight," Mom explained, "He's started working with the police on an investigation to capture that villain who committed the recent mass murders."

"Oh…" I muttered. The villain who committed the mass murders. Just the slightest mention of the person was enough to trigger that grim reminder of a headline which I had desperately tried to block off. _Five People Killed in Bloody Massacre_. The chilling words had still managed to slice through my easygoing mood with nothing but ease. The heinous mass murderer was _still_ out there somewhere. He was _still_ roaming the streets of Japan and he was _still_ a danger to everyone around him. Someone that could kill another human being in cold blood, especially five, was nothing more than a psycho and until they were locked behind bars, he wouldn't stop. I knew that for a fact.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Mom asked. She glanced at me, her face pinched and her eyes tight with worry, "You just went… quiet."

I returned back to the world, suddenly perking upward in the chair. I was so lost in my thoughts that I most had blocked off Mom's voice. "Yeah, I'm fine, Mom! I was just, uh… thinking is all."

She continued staring at me with the same concerned expression, before she reached out her hand and delicately cupped it over mine.

"If you're scared, you don't have to be," Mom soothingly reassured as she looked me straight in the eyes, "With heroes like your father around, everything will be alright."

That wasn't the first time she had said that, but with how she said it this time; it gave me a sense of hope that I needed then and there.

Yeah... yeah, what Mom said. Everything would be alright. This all would blow over soon.

* * *

...

* * *

Throughout the course of the week, the investigation had begun and pressed on, but the villain had yet to be found or arrested. The public had been on edge, the streets seeming to clear before dusk. Dad and a few other Pro Heroes had begun working nearly all day every day to search and find the criminal; but nothing had come yet of their efforts.

* * *

...

* * *

Ah, Fridays; my favorite day of the week, just ahead of Saturday. No preschool and so that meant not having to wake up early and that meant more time for me to catch up on my much-needed rest. It was around twelve when I had finally awoken from one of the best sleeps I had had in a while. I jumped to my feet, rejuvenated, full of life and ready to take on the day ahead of me.

I made my move to the bathroom and began my quick morning wake-up routine: brushing my teeth and cleaning off my face before walking downstairs to see where Mom was. I entered the living room, anticipating seeing Mom in her regular work-space but strangely enough, Mom wasn't there. On the table were her open sketchbooks and her working materials, so she had to have been in here working still.

Maybe the kitchen? I ran through the house until I reached the kitchen. I walked through the entranceway, but again, no sign of Mom. Had she gone out for a quick run? Unless Aunt Kiyo was here to watch over me, she wouldn't have done something irresponsible as that. Then again, that wasn't much of a difference-maker with _her_ watching over me.

"Gah, this thing is so damn tricky!" I heard a familiar voice bark.

"We're so, so sorry, miss," another familiar voice followed, "Banri, let me see the phone. We can't waste this woman's time now."

Mom and Dad? I followed the tracks of their faint voices until I finally discovered them. The shōji to Dad's home office was wide-open. Not wanting to disturb whatever they were doing, I tip-toed lightly into the room. Sitting at his desk was Dad, Mom standing beside him. They hadn't noticed me yet, their attention focused on whatever they were staring down at.

My eyes locked in on Dad. It had been a week since I had seen him face-to-face like that, and so part of me wanted to act on my impulsive urge and belt out his name and run up to give him a big hug, but he seemed busy with whatever he and Mom were doing; that and he looked _completely_ out of it. His hair, albeit always messy, was even more untamed and his eyes were sunken and droopy. The dryness of his face was also too apparent, lacking any enthusiasm. I wasn't sure if I should be worried or frightened by that.

He was also still wearing his hero costume. He must had just gotten home from working and probably hadn't bothered to take it off yet.

" _On your phone's keypad_ , _just press_ *# _06_ # _and you should get your activation code_."

Eh? Activation code? Light pitter and pattering voiced from whatever Mom was hunched over looking at. Being a former Generation Z, I was no stranger to that unhealthy posture and those kinds of noises. It had to be a cell phone. Intrigued, I moved a little closer to try to get a better look. Thanks to my height though, I hadn't gotten much progress on actually _seeing_ the device. A loud ping followed, before dying down altogether.

"Got it," Mom said, before eyeing her husband with a smirk on her face, "See? Was that so hard, dear?"

"Yeah, yeah, Aiko," Banri wisecracked, folding his arms across his chest, "It's not my fault! I'm still exhausted and I can't think straight."

"Don't be so cranky, I'm only messing with you," Mom chortled before looking back at the cellular device, "Miss, what do I do next?"

There was a split second of silence, before the female customer care employee replied, "No, you're all set, ma'am! Enjoy your new phone and enjoy the rest of your day!"

"Oh, thank you for your help! Have a good day!"

Mom hung up the house phone and placed it on Dad's desk. Dad noisily yawned as he leaned far back in his desk chair.

"Finally, that phone's set up," Dad monotonously said, "That was a good idea on your part, honey."

"Aww, now that's the sweet Banri I know," Mom beamed before giving Dad a light peck on the cheek, "Now all that's left is giving this to Mir—ah!"

Dad grinned heartily before scooping Mom off her feet and placing her on his lap. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, teasingly planting his loving kisses. Mom giggled, her arms wrapping around his neck and her face flushing with redness, "B-Banri, s-stop it!"

"Relax, Aiko," he whispered huskily, "I have some free time before I have to report back… let's enjoy this time together~"

My lips curled, a nauseating feeling invading my stomach. I closed my eyes and looked away. No kid should _ever_ see a travesty like this. I quietly backed away, trying my best to rush out before things got out-of-hand. I had nearly succeeded in getting out of the room, when suddenly the heel of my foot banged against the shōji.

One sudden collision later and a sharp cry of pain escaped from my mouth, alerting both of my parents of my presence. Too bad I was too busy grabbing hold of my foot, trying my best to hold off on spouting every curse word imaginable, to notice them. The pain wasn't even close to stubbing your toe or stepping on a Lego, but it still that—pain and it hurt like hell.

Mom yelped in shock, nearly falling out of Dad's lap and onto the floor; luckily Dad caught her in time.

"Mirai, sweetheart!" Mom exclaimed breathily, hopping off of Dad. She flew to my side and fell down to my height, "Are you okay? Let Mommy see!"

I removed my hands from my foot, letting Mom examine it. I couldn't help but wince a little as my foot reddened and throbbed in pain. "I'm fine, Mom," I grumbled, beginning to shake off the pain.

"You sure son?" Dad worriedly asked, now making his way to Mom and I.

"I promise," I said, nodding and giving them a reassuring smile.

The blush on Mom's face suddenly returned. Her eyes began wandering around the room slightly, avoiding contact with mine. I gulped, knowing what words were coming next. Before I could try to make the situation less awkward, she had already beat me to it.

"So… I know you saw Daddy and me sharing a private moment together and I just want sure you're—"

"I-I'm fine!" I blurted out, it accidentally coming out more defensive more than I intended, "Sorry… I didn't mean to get in the way…"

Mom and Dad both seemed drawn back to how intense and weird I was acting, not a word seeming to come from them. Fuck, it was obvious that I knew _too much_ about that kind of stuff; it was written all over my face!

"Kiddo, don't worry, we just wanted to make sure you weren't scared or anything," Dad chuckled, attempting to laugh the poor atmosphere away, "If you ever feel any kind of way about what you saw, just talk to us, okay?"

"Okay…" I stiffly said.

"Good!" Dad then turned around and walked to his desk, before making his way back over to Mom and me.

He knelt down in front of me, smiling widely and with his hands hidden behind his back, "So son! I have a special present for you!"

I'm sure I would've been way happier about the present if I hadn't already seen him and Mom fiddling around it. I also didn't want to get my hopes up.

A kid being given a cell phone was unheard of. If they were to give me something as big as that, then there was no way it would have been of high-quality, like an iGalaxy.

"Go ahead, guess what it is! You get three tries!" Dad exclaimed passionately.

I began to feel uncomfortably awkward from Dad's excessive enthusiasm. This guessing game was meaningless. Thankfully Mom ended it.

"Banri, just give it to him," Mom said, "He'll be pleased when he sees it."

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Dad sighed, bringing his hands to the front. As expected, the gift was a cell phone. Even more expected, it was a flip-phone. He slipped the phone into my palm and let go, retracting his hands. It was light, yet very compact considering it was closed shut.

Finally, I was able to get a good look at the mobile device. The hinged cellphone's color was a clean red; so, it must had been brand new. It had a digital screen on the front, showing the battery percentage and the current time. There was a camera near the top of the phone.

I flipped it upward, revealing the screen, keypad, speaker and built-in microphone. It was suddenly that the notion finally smacked me on the head. Even if this was a basic cell phone, there were mobile games and even better… Internet access. I felt foolish, my eyes beginning to tear up, but I couldn't help it. I'd waited _years_ to be able to explore the Internet again.

That chance was in front of me, literally!

"So… how do you like it?" Mom asked.

"It's great! Thank you, Mom and Dad!" I gleefully thanked.

"I'm glad that you like it," Dad said. But that's when his facial expression switched, going from excited to serious. He looked down at the phone and back to me. Was something wrong? The change was so… sudden.

"There's some rules that we need to go over with, son," Dad said.

Huh? Don't tell me they were going to be restrict and monitor my cell phone.

"Rules?" I said, not even bothering to hide any hint of my somberness.

"This phone is yours to play with and all but… this is mainly for in a case of emergency," Dad explained, "A family of three had been murdered just this morning, near us. Their bodies were found in the same condition as the last five, so there's already enough evidence that that is the work of the original killer and so..."

A family had been killed… around here?

"Banri!" Mom barked angrily, "What are you trying to do? Scare him?!"

"Honey, I was just…" Dad retorted before breathing heavily and pinching the branch of his nose.

"With everything going on right now, with your father being busy with this case, it's getting really dangerous out there," Mom said, putting her hands on my shoulders and looking me in my eyes compassionately.

"We brought this phone to allow you to be able to call us for anything; especially if you're in trouble," Dad further explained.

"Mommy lo— _we_ love you so much, more than you could ever know. If anything were to happen to you…" Mom said. Her voice was breaking down and her eyes were becoming glossy.

The pain resonating from her voice. She was so distressed for my safety and well-being to the point that she was on the brink of tears. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I forced them back.

"It's okay Mom," I comforted, pulling her into a hug, "I love you both too."

Dad sniffled before collapsing onto the floor, dogpiling on top of us and embracing Mom and me.

"I love you both so much!" Dad shouted, bawling at the top of his lungs, "I won't let anything happen to any of you!"

Snot and tears came from all of us as we laid there, crying and sharing a tender moment together. After what was to come, I wished that this was how everything could've stayed.

* * *

...

* * *

With the news of the recent family homicide, it had devastated the entire Prefecture. The villain had yet to be found or arrested and it didn't seem to be an end in sight to the terror that was being brought down on Aichi. Dad had since stopped coming home altogether, now having to work around the clock; my only time of being able to talk to him being before I went to bed every night.

Because of everything happening around them, Aichi had erupted into a nerve-wracking period. They looked to the heroes that still hadn't taken down the menace threatening their lives and families and chastised them for not putting in any "effort" to put the villain to rest. Public statements from the authorities and heroes had been issued, but that hadn't quieted the masses.

I had tried to keep my faith in not just Dad, but everyone involved in the investigation; they were undoubtedly trying their hardest to ensure every citizen's safety, but with each passing day, my doubts and fears grew worse. The security that I had once felt was now out the window.

Lives were at stake and hysteria was on the uprising and all I could do was pray that no harm would come about anyone else that crossed paths with the killer. I didn't want to think about the down side of things but, I knew deep down that there was only so much praying could do at this point. With how things were headed, it was only a matter of time before things would spiral even more out of control.

* * *

...

* * *

After dinner and a little TV-time with Mom, she had put me to sleep. I had since shut my eyes and fallen into a serene slumber, confined and snuggled up within my bed covers. The silence of the room, the warmth of my bed; _nothing_ could have been better.

 _Thud._

A sudden thump echoed through the walls of my room, disturbing the stillness. My eyes opened partly, but I didn't move a muscle. I had no idea what time it was exactly, but I assumed that Dad had just came home; probably collapsing on the couch, so I didn't give it too much importance.

Assuming it was nothing, I closed my eyes again and let myself drift back to sleep. That didn't last long though.

 _Thud_!

I heard the same noise again, this time, louder than the first one. I swiftly shot up, firmly pressing my back against the headboard of my bed. My ears were no longer blurry and unfocused, but wide open, scanning through the darkness of my room. My heart felt like it was racing a hundred miles per hour and the pace of my breathing accelerated. Okay, now that was odd. What in the world was that…?

Part of me wanted to ignore it and lay back down but the other wanted to know what was going on. It was probably just Dad strolling through the house, but I just had to make sure everything was alright. I got up from my bed and walked into the hallway. Everything was near pitch-black. Feeling the tension, I quickly moved towards the nearest light source and flicked it upward.

The ceiling light above lit up, illuminating the hallway. I carefully moved towards the steps, when I noticed the light of the living room's TV flickering. There was nothing but silence, not a sound or voice to be heard.

I forced a gulp down. Suddenly, my throat felt dry.

I needed someone. I took a couple steps back before turning around and looking in the direction of Mom and Dad's room.

I had to get Mom.

Once I had arrived at their door, I softly pushed it open and the door creaked slowly. I was afraid to awake Mom, but I needed her.

I took one step in the room and was about to call out for Mom when I suddenly saw…

Red. Everything around me was _red_. Large stains of blood and intestines tainted the walls, even dripping from the ceiling onto the carpet.

Trembling, I approached the bed. That's when I saw _them_ ; their faces and necks torn apart and their lifeless bodies entangled between the crimson sheets with a lost glare towards the ceiling.

No… i-it couldn't be. No, no… _nonononono_.

How could this have happened?!

How didn't I hear my parents' cries for help?!

How had Dad not prevented this?!

My knees hit the ground as a scream tore out of my mouth, anguish seeded deep in the cries. I screamed and screamed and teared at my aching chest, unable to catch my breath. All of my thoughts were incoherent. I-I couldn't think!

That's when " _it_ " manifested. Right before my eyes, "it" morphed from out of the shadows of the unlit room. I shook violently, in too much of in a stupor to scream any longer. The cold, merciless look on its face made me shudder with fear. The handle of a kitchen knife lay within his grasp; the murder weapon, stained with blood. His eyes were empty, no sympathy or mercy for humanity left in them; not even for a child like me.

It hadn't said a word, but the evil glint in his soulless eyes as he stared at me, it told a tale.

It was going to kill me! It was going to kill me like Mom and Dad!

It took one single step, but it had already covered so much. With just that one movement of its foot, it was in front of me. It looked down at me, still cold and emotionless. I frantically crawled backwards, to try to get away from the murderer, but it was futile.

It lifted the knife above its head and in one fell swoop, it swung it down on me—

My eyes snapped open. My shirt was pasted to my skin as my chest rose and fell at an alarming speed. I peered around desperately, looking for an anchor. I was in my room and in my bed once more. The darkness of the night still surrounded me. My body had registered that everything was alright, but my brain hadn't.

In every shadow in every corner of my room I couldn't help but see " _it_ ". I could imagine its footsteps nearing the door, the prickling sound of the doorknob being jutted back and forth.

I attempted to calm myself down, but I continued bawling and pleading for my life. Suddenly, Mom burst through the door.

"Mirai!" Mom shrieked, eyes darting around and searching for the source of my anguish. She turned on the lamp and ran up to me.

"Y-You and D-Dad were dead, and the killer was t-there, and he was about to k-kill me a-and—!" Mom shushed me, pulling me into her motherly embrace and consoled me in my moment of need.

It was... it just a nightmare. They were okay.

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted to take this time to apologize for how long it took for me to get this chapter out. This was really supposed to be posted a couple weeks ago, but I had some problems with this chapter and things that needed to improved and fixed. Well, that and school is starting back up tomorrow (fucking great) and I kind of lazed around on doing some assignments that I needed to get done... yeah, I have to work on my procrastination I swear.**

 **Also! I noticed a few... exaggerations in the last chapter and I feel like they need to corrected a little. So, I'll be working to re-edit that chapter a bit in a couple weeks.**

 **I don't really have much to say this time around, so until the next time. I hope everyone reading has a blessed day/night!**


	9. Path to Hero Arc: Chapter 8

Title: Here I Stand

Summary: I had grown up being told death was supposed to lead to the peaceful afterlife, not a world of superheroes and "Quirks". [SI-OC/Reincarnation-fic]

Let's just get to right~

* * *

Chapter 08: Calm Before The…

* * *

Mentally and physically, I had been on five percent battery charge and it showed. Exhaustion filled my entire body as me and Mom made our way through the hallways of Little Angels, my movements lacking much of any humph and my eyes burdened with weariness. Occasionally, I'd blink in short bursts to keep my eyes awake, but that didn't seem to do me any good.

After Mom had finally managed to calm me down, she let me sleep with her for the remainder of the night. I hadn't gotten much of any rest after the nightmare. Even under the safety and protection of my mother, I couldn't fall back asleep. I was too scared to see Mom and Dad like that, to experience the sickening hell again.

So, I didn't.

Seeing how shaken up and quiet I was this morning, Mom had nearly kept me home, but I insisted I had felt a lot better. Some mental healing for the day might've sounded like the way-to-go, but I wanted to get my mind off of things in a different way. A little socialization would help.

"Mi-chan!" I snapped back to reality after hearing her innocently croaky voice and the nickname which only one person would ever have called me, my eyes seeming to come to life for the first time today. I turned my head to the sound of the nearby voice, and sure enough, there was Tsuyu, dressed in a pair of denim overalls, a green stripped shirt underneath and white sneakers. Her nicely braided hair bounced in the air as she hopped towards me and Mom.

"Tsu," I smiled, waving at her as she approached us. Stopping in front of me, she gave me a quick hug before separating and looking up at Mom and smiling.

"Hi, Mrs. Fudo," Tsuyu politely greeted.

"Why hello, Tsuyu," Mom said, warmly smiling at her. That's when Mom started looking behind Tsuyu, an oddly focused look on her face. I decided to question her, "Mom… are you okay?"

"Tsuyu, did you come here by yourself?" Mom asked, finally refocusing back on her.

"Tsuyu! Where did you go?" a panicked voice yelled, the voice traveling throughout the hallways.

The volume of the woman's pleas and rushing footsteps increased and drew closer until the bearer of the voice had finally made their appearance, frantically ripping around the corner. Almost as she had turned the corner, she skidded to a stop after she saw the three of us. The muscles in her face unloosened and she expelled a shaky breath, before making her way over.

"Tsuyu, dear, don't run off like that again," the woman softly lectured, pressing her palm to her heart. Right away, I observed the blush marks on her cheeks, the frog-like structure of her face, the dark green hair; it was already clear to me who the woman was.

"Sorry, I saw Mirai and I got carried away," Tsuyu calmly explained, placing her finger on her lips.

As I had thought, it was Beru Asui, or rather Tsu's mother. Since attending Little Angels, I didn't think I had ever seen her father or mother, well, until now that was. Normally by the time Mom and or Dad dropped me off, Tsu was always here—wouldn't be surprised if they lived near the preschool.

From having already seen how she looked before, I still couldn't spot much of a difference in how she looked, despite it being more than a decade from her age of 40 in the current time.

"It's fine my little tadpole, just don't run off like that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Beru laughed.

"Ribbit, ribbit," Tsuyu ribbited in response.

It seemed like it took a second before Beru finally caught on to me and Mom's presence because when she did, she yelped. She quickly bounced back from her initial shock, although her blush marks had swelled in size around her face.

Beru greeted Mom with a friendly bow, giving her a small nod of her head, "I-I apologize for my rudeness! It's nice to meet you!"

"Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you too," Mom said, also bowing. I immediately followed suit, bowing my head in respect for the adult in front of me before standing back up straight.

Tsuyu walked over and stood beside me, "This is Mi-chan and his mother."

"This is your friend… Mirai?" Beru gasped, glancing at me and intertwining her hands together. There wasn't any malice or snark behind her words, but rather joy.

"My daughter has told me so many good things about you!" Beru beamed at me.

I couldn't even try to contain the giant, cheesy smile I had on my face. It was an amazing gratifying thing to hear about the kind of effect I had on Tsu and how she felt about me. "How kind and funny you are. She even mentioned that you were the son of the hero... Puppetmaster…"

She went silent before rapidly spouting, "Wait, no, sorry! I'm not meaning to say that my daughter is only your son's friend because of his father's—"

"I understand what you're trying to say," Mom assured with a smile, "Enrolling Mirai in school, me and my husband were prepared for the attention that he would get but I'm happy that he's made a sweet, honest friend in Tsuyu."

"Thank you for understanding," Beru replied, before glancing over at me, "Before you came, she had always been someone that was to herself. Even though my husband and I entered her here to get her acclimated with other kids her age, she didn't really have anyone to talk to in the class beside the caretakers. Recently though, she's been more outgoing and expressive and so what I'm trying to say is… thank you for being her friend."

I bowed my head in appreciation, "T-Thank you, Asui-san."

Mom inhaled a deep breath and blew out slowly, "How about we talk more on the way?"

"Sounds like a good idea, we wouldn't want the kids to be late," Beru agreed.

And so, the four of us strolled along in the direction of our classroom. Mom and Beru had carried on with their small talk, chatting about their days so far and sharing a couple of laughs, tossing in the occasional compliment on how well-mannered both me and Tsuyu were.

"They seem to be hitting it off well," I eventually whispered over at Tsu, not wanting to disrupt the icebreaking moment between the two.

Tsu leaned over as we walked and murmured back, "Like magic before our eyes."

Even though they had just met for the first time a few minutes ago, they seemed to have warmed up to each other, at least to where they were having a nice back-and-forth. Seeing them beginning to connect, I was really happy about it and Tsu probably felt the same way I did.

* * *

"Tsuyu, Mirai! Hey, you two cuties!" Nakamura-sensei exclaimed, welcoming the two of us when we made it inside the classroom. Cheerful laughter and scampering from the other children filled the room, even echoing from outside the room and through the hallway. Carpet time must've just ended before we got here; good, I was far from in a singing mood.

She came towards the four of us, smiling broadly as she always did. "Welcome, Mrs. Fudo and Mrs. Asui! Hopefully you both are having wonderful mornings so far!"

"If by wonderful, you mean hectic, then it's been pretty wonderful so far," Beru joked, to which Mom and Nakamura-sensei laughed, "My youngest one was a bit of a handful throughout the night and the babysitter cancelled last minute, so I had to have my parents watch over him for the day."

"Ah, so that's what happened. Normally you and Tsuyu are here early, so I thought maybe you weren't planning on dropping her off today," Nakamura-sensei said.

"Yeah, this is unusual for me," Beru replied, "It's also unusual for the babysitter to cancel so abruptly like that. I wouldn't be surprised if it's because all the mur—everything going on right now."

"Mhm… it's a difficult time for everyone," Mom sighed, "Mirai had a really bad nightmare about the killer last night. I feel like I should've kept him home, but he really wanted to come today."

I tensed up where I stood, the hairs on my body beginning to stand up as flashes of the nightmare came back to me. The rotten stench of cartilage, gristle and flesh which filled the room, the bloodied bed where my parents' dead bodies lay, and "its" soulless eyes, I vividly remembered it all. Lord knows how much I tried to forget it, but it… it still lingered…

No! I got a hold of myself, tightly hardening my fist. No matter how vivid and real the nightmare felt, it was all in my head, a harmless event that my brain unfortunately conceived.

"Oh no, are you okay, Mirai?" I returned to reality and there Nakamura-sensei was, looking at me worriedly.

"I'm doing better now," I answered with a controlled imitation of my usual tone. I wasn't okay, but talking about it… it would only make me feel worse. I needed to an outlet to focus my mind on instead, like maybe a computer game or an interesting book. Yeah, that'd do and I had one exact thing in mind.

I looked over at Tsu, who was listening in on Mom, Beru and Nakamura-sensei's light chit-chat, "Yo, Tsu-chan. You up for a game of All Might: Villain Crusher?"

"Sure," Tsuyu nodded, before giving her mother a goodbye hug and leaping off towards me.

"Mirai," Mom called out to me, making me slow down and stop in my tracks. "Yes, Mom?"

"You're not going to give your mommy a hug before I go?" Mom pouted, opening her arms for me to hug her.

"Sorry," I apologized, running back up to her and embracing her. Once we separated, she put both of her hands on my shoulders, "Are you sure you don't want to stay home with me?"

"I'm sure," I responded.

"Well alright then, remember to give me a call if you feel like you want to leave, okay?" Mom said.

"Okay."

She straightened up and rubbed the nape of her neck, "Also one more thing. I'm sure you're already aware of this but I leave tonight for the company's convention tomorrow."

Oh yeah, PRONCon. The whole event had slipped my mind.

"Your father won't be home tonight, so… so you'll be staying with Kiyo for the weekend," Mom hesitantly said. I could see Mom's reaction coming from a mile away, but still, I could feel my face lighting up like a Christmas tree from the great news. There was a boatload of things you could label Aunt Kiyo as, but boring was most definitely not on that list.

Spontaneous trips to amusement parks, movie marathon nights, letting me stay up until the wee-hours of the morning, not to mention the gifts she bought for me on a consistent basis. She even had a game console set up at her apartment for me whenever I visited or spent a night. All of those things were… irresponsible to say the least, but she was a damn cool aunt. She was like a second mother for me, a great friend as well.

Her western-style of cooking was also to die for. I mean, what more could you ask of a person?

"Cool! I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air with joy.

"I thought you would react that way," Mom sighed while pinching the branch of her nose. Suddenly, a faint synthetic beep pinged nearby. Mom instantly dug inside her pocket and pulled out her phone. She eyed whatever she saw on the phone before swiping her finger across the screen, silencing the alert.

It wasn't the first time I had heard that sound. It had become increasingly frequent, and so normal, as the month neared its end. It was normally a notification for her to finish a dress or sketches or a message from the CEO of PRONTO. Anything related to the company really.

"Oh shoot, look at the time," Mom said, returning the phone to her pants pocket, "My flight is at 11, so I have to get home and finish packing."

She kissed me on the forehead and softly ruffled her hand through my hair, "See you, sweetheart and be safe. I'll check in with you once I land! Try not to have _too_ much fun with Kiyo!"

"I'll try not to!" I laughed. This weekend was going to be one to remember, that's for sure.

Before Mom and Beru left, the two mothers exchanged information with each other. And then there was me, Tsu and Nakamura- _sensei_.

"How about you two go have some fun?" Nakamura-sensei smiled, placing her hands on her hips.

"Right!" Tsuyu and I cheered in unison, running off to start the game at the computer center.

* * *

Just as I had hoped, having some fun was doing a good job at taking my mind off of last night. The nightmare had become a thing of the past as I focused all of my time and energy into something I found a lot more constructive—winning.

All Might: Villain Crusher. In the game, you played as the one and only Symbol of Peace, All Might and the objective of the game was for you to combat and defeat an invading mad mathematician villain named Big Brain and his multiplying and dividing goons with the help of addition and subtraction.

It was a recently released educational game, but it was already a smash hit with all the kids around the country. You could dedicate some of the success to the legendary name that All Might held, but it was a really good teaching game. It helped you strengthen your quick and mental thinking with having to quickly dish out correct answers to the problems while also being a lot of fun.

Of course this meant the rest of the children in our classroom flocked to the computer center to play the game, which then led to a bunch of senseless arguments and tantrums. Thankfully Nakamura-sensei had devised a fair schedule that allowed every kid to get their turns in on the computers.

In our time, Tsu and I normally played the Versus Mode of the game. It was pretty much the same as the Story Mode but instead, it was a race between the two players to see who could solve the most problems and defeat Big Brain.

Having been around Tsu for quite some time now and already having prior knowledge of her character, she had shown to not be a very competitive person. Whenever I'd quickly solve the problems in front of me and pull in the lead, she never once complained or cried but always complimented me.

Being the 'advanced' child that I was, I tended to rely on my earlier education and use that to my advantage but because of that our matches wasn't on equal footing, as she didn't have as much intelligence as I did just yet. I felt like a terrible friend so I'd mess up occasionally, just to keep things close.

I had a feeling she wouldn't be too happy if she knew about that though.

Sticking to a slower rhythm as I usually did, we had roughly completed the three levels of the game at the same time and reached the fourth and final of the game—the Big Brain boss battle.

"Good luck Tsu-chan! You're gonna need it," I playfully sneered. The Big Brain boss battle was where the game decided to truly test the mathematical skills of their players. The difficulty of the problems increased, using bigger numbers than usual.

Her fingers stuck to the keyboard and her eyes stayed honed in on the screen but I could still make out a slight smile on her usually blank face, "Ribbit!"

" _Haha, it didn't take you too long to get to me, All Might! I expected nothing less from the Symbol of Peace himself!_ " Big Brain cackled, as he sneered at us while deviously rubbing his hands together, " _I am surprised that you let a few of those easy ones get you_!"

Ah, the iconic monologue of the villain, a time for a villain to gloat and rub his entire plan and its process in our face before we meet our timely demise and yadda yadda yadda. Heard it a dozen times and I was over it.

My hand moved to touch the Tab key when I stopped. I turned to talk to Tsu, "Do you mind if I skip this and get to the battle?"

"No, go on ahead," Tsuyu said.

"Cool." With a brief hold of the button, the cutscene ended and the boss battle begun. The math problems flew out onto the screen. Big Brain's Quirk: _Exploding Problems_ , allowed him to conjure up problems and if the player couldn't get the answer in a ten second time frame, the problem would explode and deal damage to the player.

5+21=26, easy.

24-13= 11, piece of cake.

13-9= 4. Instead of clicking on the obvious answer, I motioned my hand over the 2 and clicked it.

" _There you go again All Might_! _Messing up on those easy ones I see_!" Big Brain mocked, as he tossed out another problem for me to solve. Tsuyu and I were in the middle of blitzing through the boss battle when suddenly the other kids in the class started crowding around us.

I could barely focus on mentally counting the numbers and solving the problems with the ooh's and ah's dinning from the audience behind us as they gazed at both of our computer screens.

"Wow! Look at Mirai go!" a little girl exclaimed.

"How is he so great?" a young boy said.

"Aww… he passed my high score again…" one of the girls muttered in a discouraged tone.

The corners of my mouth turned upward into a wide grin, pride and confidence radiating off of me as I continued dealing incredible, swift damage on Big Brain. I had to admit, it was easy for constant compliments and praise to get to your head and inflate your ego. With how high in regard those kids held me as the son of a Pro Hero, if I was an actual kid that didn't know any better, I would probably turn out to be a conceited, egotistic brat; luckily that was never in my character.

"Hey, what about Tsuyu? She's not too far behind Mirai," everyone, including myself, shifted to her screen. Just as the person had said, Tsu wasn't being left in the dust, only being two problems behind me. I wasn't all too surprised. She had always shown a quick grasp whenever it came time for Nakamura-sensei to teach Math.

"If you wanted to take this serious, all you had to do was tell me Tsu!" I snickered, leaning a bit over at her to make sure she saw the face I was making.

"You might want to focus on your own game," Tsuyu retorted, her eyes still fixated on her game.

" _All Might! Did you seriously just miss five problems in a row?! So much for the great 'Symbol of Peace'!_ " My head snapped back over to my screen, only to find that my health was no longer at full, but at 20.

 _Fuck_.

All of the other kids began a parade of what to me felt like heckling laughter as they watched me hastily click answers and all I could do was hang my head in shame and embarrassment.

 _Way to go_ , Mirai.

* * *

In the end, I ended up defeating Big Brain but it was all for nothing as Tsu had long since finished her battle beforehand, in turn, saving all of Japan and coming out as the victor of our match. Already embarrassed at what had happened in front of everybody, I sat in the Literacy Center, sulking to myself for the rest of the period as Tsuyu practiced her writing. Eventually, center time came to a close.

On the bright side of things, because preschool was closed for the rest of the week, Nakamura- _sensei_ had decided to skip over music class to make more time for everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves. And so, free time was upon us until we had to begin our core subject periods.

"Mi- _chan_ , you're still embarrassed?" Tsuyu asked, her little frog tongue flopping out of her mouth.

I hung my head in shame, not bothering to look into her eyes, "Yeah, just a bit."

"You should learn to not be so cocky then. It's very unhero-like for someone that wants to be a Hero," Tsuyu said. I was used to all of her quirky mannerisms and the way she had of saying things, and they definitely didn't have much of an effect on me but the bluntness of her words ripped through the fragile, humiliated state I was in. My head shot upward faster than thought or time.

"I figured that already!" I retorted hotly, anger surging within me.

"Don't be that way Mirai, its better someone tells you now than later," Tsu lectured, swaying her head side-to-side as she tended to do randomly at times.

"I—I can't even argue with that…" I sighed, lowering my head and letting it droop pitifully. Tsuyu was still a little child, but her early maturity was beginning to show more and more each passing day. I had a knocking feeling she had more "motherly" and "wise" lectures up her sleeve for me too.

"Mirai…" The sudden softness in Tsu's voice had come unexpectedly and caught me off guard. I was even further taken back when she tenderly placed her hand on my shoulder. It took a brief moment before I finally dispelled from my shock and moved my head from the ground I had staring at to her tiny hand.

What's gotten into her all of a sudden? She's never acted or spoken like this before…

I mean, it's not like I looked at Tsu as some emotionless robot, incapable of having feelings. Rather it was just that this was _far_ from what I was used to from her. Nonetheless, something serious was on her mind and as her friend, it was my duty to listen.

I looked her directly in the face, our eyes meeting and I saw them. Her eyes, they were wide, still. They were always as such but I felt something. I couldn't fully explain it if asked, but I could just _feel_ deeply in my gut that there was just something… something much deeper resonating from those firm, lingering eyes of hers that I couldn't pinpoint.

For the first time in that moment, I opened up my mouth to speak, "…Yes, Tsu- _chan_?"

"Are you okay? You looked really sad and quiet this morning when your mother told Nakamura-san and my mother about the nightmare…"

 _ **The nightmare…**_

Hearing the haunting words, my heart instantaneously plummeted to the depths of my stomach. It felt like my heart had ceased to beat for that split second in time. The unsettling, frightful feeling I felt every single time it came up, I _hated_ it; I hated it so much that I couldn't stop myself from rolling my fingers into a ball of fury.

"I'm sorry…" Tsuyu's voice was soft, almost fragile, as if she was going to give in and cry. Her face pinched, her frog-like eyes appearing glassy.

She was going to cry.

I pulled her into my little arms and embraced her. She croaked in surprise.

The tender, soothing words I wanted so desperately to say to her hadn't come out. I was still shaken up inside but I had prayed through my actions that my unspoken feelings would reach her.

She hadn't said anything, not a single word; however, I didn't sense any stiffness or hostility from her. She was easy.

We stayed attached to each other for a while longer before I finally broke the consoling hug, though my hands stood planted on her shoulders.

"I was just really worried about you," she clarified, wiping a wet droplet from her cheek.

"I know… but you don't have to worry now, I'm feeling better now!" I chortled, my cheek dimples flaring upward.

She furrowed her brow and cocked her eye at me, as if she wasn't buying what I said. Fortunately that quickly faded as her face brightened up like a shimmering star, "Well then, I'm happy to hear that, Mi-chan."

"Good!" I replied, pointing at my smile to further prove my point. I hated lying; even more so lying to someone close to me like Tsuyu, but it was better this way.

"Let's do something to lighten you up a bit," Tsuyu suggested, "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Something else for you to beat me at?" I joked, a snicker trailing my playful words.

"I only play for fun, you know that already," Tsu giggled, before putting her finger to her mouth, "Fine, how about—?"

* * *

Tsuyu and I spent well over half an hour mulling over our options before we finally threw in the towel and decided to draw for the remainder of our extra free time. The day seemed to shape up to be an easygoing day.

That was until Nakamura-sensei brought out and set up the calligraphy ink and brushes and the exercise books.

Lo and behold, it was time for our daily Kanji lesson.

* * *

"Alright everyone, let's stop here!"

Those words were like music to my ears. I released the calligraphy brush, slumping back and sinking in my chair. I contorted my face, feeling the meanest migraine nearing. I was going to say it: kanji could kiss my ass. No offense to whoever created and founded it, but this was just ridiculous.

Why go through all the trouble of creating _so many_ complex characters, over 80,000 of those little scribbles might I add, that could potentially be mistaken for another one, purely based off of a simple stroke? I couldn't wrap my head around it to save my life.

"What's with that long face mister?" I turned my head to find Nakamura- _sensei_ , smiling as she studied my work, "You're doing well!"

I grumbled lightly, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance, "Doesn't feel like it."

"Look, Mirai. You can't expect everything in life to be simple as ABC," She explained, placing her hand on my shoulder, "All you can do is keep working as hard as you can; after all, practice makes perfect!"

"Yes, Nakamura- _sensei_ …" I sighed, staring at the misshaped and slanted kanji: "実".

The sight of my failure ate at me. I needed it gone.

"Thank you dear!" Nakamura- _sensei_ exclaimed, clapping both of her hands together joyfully before beginning to collect my calligraphy set.

It occurred to me that I would have to be patient and work hard to memorize what I had learned and practiced if I wanted to learn and master kanji, but it was so tempting to just give up; even though that wasn't possible. Learning to actually speak the language wasn't nearly as hard as learning to write in this new writing system. But it's not like Nakamura- _sensei_ wasn't putting her best effort forth.

I just wasn't doing the same. If I _truly_ wanted to get the hang of it, I had to keep at it.

* * *

From there, the day seemed to fly by. English, Math, it all seemed like one big blur.

Following our core subject periods was snack time, where we were surprisingly treated to a sugar feast, compliments of our dear Nakamura- _sensei_. She had gone out of her way to reward us for how fast we had been improving in not on our studies but also as a class and so she ordered platters of Dorayaki, Castella and Mochi from a nearby bakery service.

A cacophony of applause and cheering exploded from everyone, palpable excitement buzzing through the charged air. Hell, even I joined in the emotional outpour with the others when I heard the beautiful news.

To Tsu's excitement, some of the Mochi Nakamura- _sensei_ ordered was filled with jelly; Tsu's favorite food. Seeing the way her lips curved in glee and her eyes twinkled with joy was a sight to behold, one that brought a warm smile to my face as she dug into the sweet, scrumptious delights on her plate.

It was hard to believe that today started off on a bad note. Things somehow, someway turned around for the better. Whether this was a sign from God or not, I was thankful for it. The nightmare felt like a thought of the past, it didn't matter. All that mattered right now was my mouth and the sweet treats that were going in it.

Today was a good day, and _this_ was the cherry on top.

* * *

"Alright my precious little ones, snack time's over~!" Nakamura- _sensei_ 's bubbly voice announced, "Clean-up time!"

Nakamura- _sensei_ danced and grooved her way over to the classroom stereo and clicked the Play button, a happy-sounding jingle beginning to play.

I pushed the last morsel of the fine textured honey glazed sponge cake into my mouth, officially completing the last of the food that was on my plate. The shimmering glaze dancing on my fingertips quickly disappeared as I used my tongue to rid my fingers of the silky substance. The sugary foods left me stuffed and with a slight fuzzy feeling in the head, nonetheless energized; my whole body riveting with mounds of energy.

I felt like I could run a mile, even a marathon with no problem!

I looked at Tsu, who was in the process of shoveling down the last of her jelly-filled Mochi. Once she finally disposed of the confections, she used her frog-like tongue to lick the remnants of jelly off the corner of her mouth.

"Delicious, ribbit!" Tsu beamed, clapping both her hands together in glee and appreciation for the food she had received.

As a class, we began cleaning up our mess, throwing away our dirtied plastic plates into the garbage bag set out for us and helping one another sweep up the leftover crumbs on the floor as Nakamura- _sensei_ cheerily sung the "Tidy-Up Song", encouraging us to work together and do our best from the sidelines. It wasn't long before we had successfully completed the task, leaving the classroom spotless.

"Woo, good job everyone! Give yourselves a pat on the back, this room looks so beautiful~!" Nakamura- _sensei_ enthusiastically praised, a sense of pride written all over her gleeful face as she gave us a round of much-deserved applause. "Now, how about we all go work off all of those delicious treats we just ate outside? Who's ready for~ recess?"

The kids ecstatically detonated off like a bomb after hearing the word "recess", most of everyone letting their Quirks run wild. Nakamura- _sensei_ had done a great job at keeping the kids in control and at bay when it came to Quirk usage, but the kids' euphoric feeling that came with recess was untamable.

And there I was, only able to look on like the normal, or in this world's case, abnormal, Quirkless little guy I was. Yet another reminder that I had no Quirk to call my own, to show me that I wasn't special. Each and every one of these kids was blessed but me? I wasn't, not like them.

Just the notion of being Quirkless terrified me. If Mom and Dad found out… would they look at me differently? Would they be disappointed in me? Would Dad be disappointed in me? Being known as the Quirkless son of a Pro Hero, nonetheless one of his caliber, it would be a downright embarrassment on his part. Not to mention, Tsuyu and I's goal to enroll at U.A. and become Pro Heroes, all of what I had pledged to myself, it would vanish in an instant and I would just have to live with it… and just when things had seemed to be looking up, of course, my bad luck strikes again. As if I needed something else to lament about today.

"Alright, that's enough everyone!" Nakamura- _sensei_ sternly raised her voice. The kids immediately got the message, switching off their Quirks and returning to their former calm state, "Let's all quietly line up to go outside!"

One by one, each and every toddler followed instructions, beginning to gather together.

"Mi-chan, let's hurry and line up," Tsuyu smiled at me, before hopping off to join the line.

"Yeah…" I softly replied, following behind her.

In the blink of an eye, we had all assembled into a neat, single file line. "Okay class, let's make our way to the backdoor quietly," Nakamura- _sensei_ murmured, putting her index finger to her lips to shush us, "Some of the other classes are sleeping and we wouldn't want to wake them up."

Once we had all exited the classroom, Nakamura- _sensei_ locked the door behind her and made a quick run to the supplies room to get a bag full of outdoor equipment before leading us down the hallway.

* * *

Once the doors were opened, the kids anxiously broke from the line, running rampant in the spacious field that was our esteemed playground while screeching joyfully.

"Be careful! And let's all remember to play nice now~!" Nakamura- _sensei_ said, cupping her hands over her mouth and shouting.

Some girls got together and played Double Dutch, a group of boys separated into teams and began playing a game of soccer, and some other kids enjoyed their time on the jungle gym. As for me and Tsu, we sat on the soft, lush grass, accompanied by the shade of a towering nearby tree.

"You don't have to sit with me Mi- _chan_ ," Tsuyu said, gazing at the white daisy she had picked from the ground, "You can go have fun."

"I'll be fine," I insisted, leaning back on the tree as I took in the view of the boys ecstatically dribbling the soccer ball up and down the field. Getting in a game of soccer sounded like a _lot_ of fun right now but I also didn't want to leave Tsuyu all by herself.

You could say she wasn't all too comfortable playing with the girls, and so she had resorted to sitting by herself and well, I wasn't going to watch her be lonely while I was off having fun without her.

She halted twiddling the daisy around in her hand and looked at me, as if she was about to retort when—

"Mirai! Tsuyu!" The sweet-sounding voice had suddenly barged into our conversation, stopping Tsuyu before she could say anything. Nonetheless, the person had caught our attention. With a quick turn of our heads, we saw the person in which the voice belonged to.

Standing there was a smiling Fumiko, her iridescent wings fluttering rapidly. Standing next to her was another one of the kids of the classroom, a boy with short black hair and brown eyes, accompanied with a green baseball cap.

Fumiko? What did she want? As fellow classmates, we had talked and interacted a couple of times, inside or outside of group work, but we never really had much of a friendship. She was probably one of the only people that weren't too hung up on my status though, and I was grateful to her for that.

"Yo, Fumiko, Haruki," I replied, greeting them with an acknowledging nod.

"Ribbit," Tsuyu croaked, acknowledging them with a nod of her head.

"Hey! Do you want to play 'Heroes and Villains' with me, Haruki, Aoi, Kosuke, Rina and Misaki~?" Fumiko jingly asked, looking back and motioning with her finger over at the said group of kids smiling and staring expectedly at us.

"Mirai, pleaseee!" Haruki begged.

Tsuyu furrowed her eyebrows as she cocked her head at me, "Do you want to?"

"Sure, why not? It's been awhile since we even got a game of 'Heroes and Villains' in anyways," I smiled.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun!" Fumiko beamed, clapping her hands together in joy.

* * *

The concept of the game was easy to grasp and play. Children were divided into three separate groups—the 'Heroes, Villains and Civilians'. Of course, the Heroes were to stop the Villains from committing whatever crime while protecting the endangered Civilians. The best part of the game was that you had the choice to stick with the traditional story of a group of villains holding several civilians hostage or explore your creativity by coming up with your own scenario.

Unfortunately, most of the times the kids couldn't come up with good storylines and go through with them, so the original story it was. Anyways, the Heroes were given three minutes to take down the threat of the Villains and Civilians. If a Civilian was to get 'hurt', the Heroes would lose time, and if a Civilian was to get 'killed', the Heroes lose altogether. Activation of your Quirk in the game was also prohibited in public, due to the actual legislated Quirk usage laws. If used, then you were automatically disqualified and your team losses, even if you were playing as a Civilian.

"So, does everyone get the rules?" Fumiko asked.

We all nodded in assurance.

"Alright! Before we begin, I'll divide everyone into their roles!" She began eyeing each and every one of us, tapping her chin in thought. Several seconds had passed before she finally opened up her mouth to talk. "Kosuke, Rina, and… Tsuyu," She said, "You three will be the Civilians."

"Ribbit," Tsuyu croaked.

"Oh great, a 'Civilian' again…" Kosuke muttered.

"Yay…" Rina sighed.

Next, she pointed over at Haruki and Misaki, "Haruki and Misaki, you two will be the Villains."

"Hehehe!" Haruki cackled, "You ready to take them down, Misaki?"

"You know it, fellow Villain!" Misaki grinned devilishly.

When it came to the roles of Villains and Civilians, they were easily the most un-liked positions. Civilians were the damsels and so, all they really got to do was sit and cry for help. Not much fun.

At least the Villains got to get into the action. Then again, no kid really wanted to be categorized as a 'villain'. Or at least your average child. Haruki and Misaki seemed to be a part of the _rare_ percentage.

"Last but not least, Mirai and I will be the Heroes and Aoi," Fumiko announced, before turning over and looking at Aoi," Aoi, would you be fine being the Moderator of the game? I know you don't really like playing anything other than a Civilian but…"

"Mhm, it's fine, Fumi-chan," Aoi replied joyfully.

"That settles that then," Tsuyu said, "Let's start—"

Tsu's voice came to a breathless halt, her body suddenly going stock-still. Everyone collectively looked at her, confused and taken aback by her sudden strange shift in bodily tone.

I jogged to her side and kneeled down, "Hey, what's wrong?"

She raised her arm and pointed.

" _There_."

* * *

 **実 = _Courage_.**

* * *

 **A/N : I could spend this Author's Note apologizing for how long it took me to get this finished but I'm not lol. These last couple months of the new year haven't exactly been the best for me. School, depression, relationships, it's all eaten at me to the point where I needed to take a break and find myself again because before the beginning of March, I wasn't myself. **

**Luckily I've found peace with myself and I'm a lot more happier with everything going in my life. I'm on my way to graduating in the next couple of months and I'm incredibly excited to start attending college. I will try my best to finish the next chapter.**

 **Until next time. Hope you all have a blessed day/night!**


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